Lost Marigolds
by Koroe
Summary: It's said that marigolds guide the dead back to the living, but Seto Kaiba isn't entirely sure he wants one particular woman from his nightmares returning. Avoiding her for years does nothing to prevent her crashing into his office one day - and his sanity.
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes:**

Cover art from alaseos on Tumblr! So much love for your beautiful art! Thank you for helping me revise my story as well.

This is a blueshipping/mizushipping fanfiction. I advise that if you are against this ship to turn back. Additionally, I intend this fanfiction to be slow-burn, therefore romance between the two designated characters will not be a wildfire in early parts. There will be other pairings as well, some that may be disagreeable. This is a generally light-hearted story but it will have drama that appears cheesy.

The prologue is set during the cast's senior year, but the main story from the first chapter and later will occur nine years since the beginning of Duel Monsters. I have set the first chapter, the one after the prologue, to start in early June of 2015.

* * *

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but Seto Kaiba wouldn't have noticed because his eyes were glued onto his laptop's screen, analyzing KaibaCorp's recent stock activity. He was also keeping aggressive businessmen at bay through furious texts and calls, not that he wasn't a cutthroat businessman himself trying to exploit other businesses for his own gains. He had a cup of black coffee situated behind his laptop that he failed to drink more than one sip, a reminder that he was located at an inconvenient place to conduct business - the Roastery, a slightly higher-end coffee shop than most. However, it was a good choice he had selected the rooftop seating area, as there were only a few other people, most of those few deciding to leave in light of Kaiba's increasingly boisterous existence.

The young CEO didn't plan on engaging in business affairs after school. Well, specifically, he didn't plan to during this particular occasion. Normally he would've went straight to KaibaCorp to appropriately conduct his business. He had just finished his school day when he ventured to the Roastery to meet someone, someone who he didn't exactly care to meet firsthand. If anything, he had rejected previous proposals to meet her from an annoying set of people that he unfortunately and frequently dealt with.

Her name was Kisara Amano, a girl who also attended Domino High but was two grades younger. The scrub squad, which consisted of Yugi Muto, Tristan Taylor, Téa Gardner, and Joey Fucking Wheeler, managed to somewhat befriend the girl. That was the beginning of ceaseless attempts to get Kaiba into meeting the girl due to absurd reasons summarized by the words "fate" and "bodacious," with Yugi and Téa using the former and Joey and Tristan using the latter.

Yugi had been especially insistent, as he was the first to recognize who Kisara resembled. She was supposedly some bullshit reincarnation of Kaiba's past love interest, which apparently meant she was destined to become his.

* * *

" _Kaiba, look!" Yugi pulled up a self-portrait photo of Téa and Kisara and shoved it in Kaiba's face first thing that school morning, "Don't you see how she's the exact copy of her? Don't you think you should at least give it a shot?" This was fifth morning this kid had bothered Kaiba._

" _Look, Yugi," Kaiba snarled, slamming whatever book he was reading that particular school morning, "If you think reincarnations are exactly the same, then why are you still in school and not busy bossing around your slaves as Egypt's Pharaoh? Your friends don't count despite following the same idiotic ideology you keep trying to insinuate."_

" _Why are_ _ **you**_ _still in public school and not busy bossing around_ _ **your**_ _slaves as KaibaCorp's CEO?" Yugi surprisingly spat back as Kaiba's eyes narrowed, "I may not be Pharaoh, but last I checked, I am King of Games, and that's close enough," at that factual declaration, Kaiba wanted to shoot himself for walking into that one, "You two don't have to date but you should at least talk to her."_

* * *

 _Two weeks_ of persistent bugging broke Kaiba. One day it was Yugi, the next it was Téa , and so on from the dweebs. Even skipping school for business didn't prevent their incessant texts. Blocking them from his personal number didn't prevent them from using his business one. Kaiba ultimately figured that one date couldn't be terrible. He didn't have to like the girl anyways. From what he heard of her, she wasn't some rabid fangirl, so he hopefully wouldn't have to deal with future restraining orders. However, he didn't really hear of her wanting to go on this date either. Either way, she didn't seem problematic, and after today, he could finally be left alone.

Kaiba's eyes kept flicking over to the time on his laptop. He had been doing so for the past half hour. When Kisara didn't show up for the first ten minutes of the presumed date, he had immediately pursued business interests. With every minute passing, he felt a growing sense of _embarrassment_. No one else in the near perimeter had knowledge of his date, however, he couldn't help but feel anxiety gnaw at him. Did she not want to meet him? Was he not worth her time? He would meet business partners in various cafes across Domino City, but this time, it was different. This time it was a meeting of two people on their own accords, with supposed intent to bond in an affectionate way. Kaiba, just reaching 18, had never dated or really bonded in that way with another person. This was new.

He conducted business for an hour, doing his best to involve himself with that and ignore Kisara's lack of presence, but when the last call was made and he closed his laptop only to be greeted by a full cup of black coffee and an empty seat, a pang of sadness struck him momentarily. As he packed his laptop into his bag, his thoughts raced, and his mixture of embarrassment and sadness heightened into rage and fury.

That _bitch_.

Who the hell was this girl? The crew had been bothering him to meet her for half a fucking month, set her high upon a pedestal to reach the interest of _Seto Kaiba_ , and here she _wasn't_. They embellished her existence to the point he slightly anticipated _something_. His time was more valuable than any other young adult in the universe, and she had wasted an hour of it. He felt cheated out of this "date." Instead of getting a first date experience, he got his first experience of being stood up, and he sure as hell wasn't gleeful about that. It felt like this Kisara girl just kicked him to the side of the road as roadkill, felt like he was too insignificant for her time. His thoughts continued demonizing Kisara. His phone rang, rang with his usual ringtone, which undoubtedly once served as an object of mockery in the media once it got out that Seto Kaiba set his ringtone as the roar of the blue eyes white dragon. He still stuck to it.

He half heartedly took out his phone. His ringtone was a reminder of what Kisara was supposed to represent - his favorite duel monster. Now, he was completely sure that it was nothing but a duel monster and not some sentient being he was spiritually connected to.

It was Yugi's caller ID: L'Oréal. Kaiba stabbed the answer button with his thumb.

"I don't care," Kaiba coldly interjected before Yugi could speak a word, his tone calm but seething with suppressed anger, "and _she_ doesn't care either because she just wasted my time. You and your pathetic group of friends can stop deluding yourselves as wingmen. I don't care who she is or who she supposedly was. You can trash your destiny bullshit. From now on, I'm going to stick to living in fucking reality."

He hung up before Yugi could respond, and it was only till then that he realized he had managed to crush the delicate coffee cup into pieces from the pressure of his free hand. Black coffee with a hint of blood spilled. He released his hand, slung his laptop bag onto his shoulder, and left the mess along with any notion of destiny, fate, and the girl who could've been.


	2. Chapter 1: A Deal

Author's Note: Hello to whoever is reading this! I would like to apologize for the messiness of the prologue. I really should have formatted it better before clicking that submit/publish button :,) Anyways, I decided to change the title from "White Lightning" to "Second Chances" because the former was really just a filler title. Who knows, I'm so fickle I might change the title for a third time, however, I really do think "Second Chances" will fit my plans for this story.

 **Seven years have passed since the prologue.**

* * *

Monday morning, Kaiba pulled in his car, some expensive model Mokuba recommended, in front of KaibaCorp, got out, and tossed his keys to the valet as he did any workday. He never really had much care in what kind of car he had, as long as it was efficient and sleek. At one point during his teenage years, he wanted the front of his car to be in the resemblance of the blue eyes white dragon, with the headlights as the eyes and everything, but that idea crashed fast due to security reasons. Kaiba was secretly relieved his younger self didn't pull through with that idea, and he already had a jet in the model of his favorite monster, anyways.

During high school, he would have a chauffeur to drive him in a limousine, but long gone were the days he sat in the back. He used to shove in work time on his laptop during car trips between home, school, and KaibaCorp, but during his college commute days, he decided to cease work during car rides in favor of driving himself. Drives gave him a temporary peace before officially starting another work day, and of course, he drove in silence. He didn't care for music or news broadcasts on the radio, he just needed another break in his 7 to 7 job.

After entering the building, Kaiba zeroed in on the elevator, finding himself without the company of anyone else inside. As the doors closed, he caught his reflection staring back at him. Despite dressing quite the part of a handsome businessman in suit and tie, he never really spent much time in front of the mirror. If anything, the most he did spend looking at himself was when he brushed his teeth. He wasn't looking too hot in the mirror sheen of the elevator doors. His dulled blue eyes were heavily accentuated by dark circles, which day by day got darker, probably from all his time in front of the screen, stress, lack of sleep, etc. At this rate, he wouldn't be surprised to wake up one day in his twenties to look like he was in his fifties, not that he really cared. He had no one to impress, nor did he care to have anyone to impress. Alas, according to an online study that surveyed approximately 300 affluent CEOs, their weekly work hours averaged to around 60 hours (not including weekend business calls), and they all admitted to sacrificing sleep for that. He was just another CEO doing his job, a strenuous job that looked easy in the eyes of the public because the job produced him billions.

The ding of his office floor and the elevator doors opening conceded Kaiba's self-reflection. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, Roland greeted him.

"Good morning, Mr. Kaiba. 7 o'clock sharp as usual," Roland bowed and joined his boss' journey towards his office.

"Of course," Kaiba's normally placid lips furled into his trademark half-smile, never full, but always half for his most loyal employee, which was more than he gave anybody, aside from his little brother. Actually, Roland was more than an employee at this point; He was more like a family friend, always looking out for the Kaiba brothers beyond the business field. He even offered to cook dinner for the two when Mokuba ratted out his older brother's routine of skipping dinner by immediately sleeping after work.

Kaiba, however, had gotten better ever since Mokuba had started cooking dinner for the two. It might have been easier to hire a personal cook, but Kaiba had seen it as a waste for him and the cook since the only meal he'd need to be cooked would be dinner. On weekdays, he had his secretary deliver breakfast and he ate out on his lunch break, and weekend meals were usually doable or also bought for his weekly outside dinners with Mokuba. Personal chefs were only worth it if they cooked a five-course meal each night, and Kaiba's habit of shortly sleeping after dinner made a too-full stomach feel grotesque.

Roland opened Kaiba's office door. Kaiba walked in expecting to smoothly settle into his desk but stopped within three feet of entering.

"Is there something wrong?" Roland closed the door and walked up to his boss.

"What is _that_?" Kaiba pointed towards his office couch. The couch was usually reserved for important people with elusive appointments, which mostly consisted of assholes in suits with egos parallel to his. The only other person that had ever sat on that couch was Mokuba. On that couch was a figure laying down, and it had been years since Mokuba came around to nap on that couch. Therefore, it sure as hell wasn't his little brother.

The two men cautiously strode over to the seating area to find a person rather comfortably situated on their side. It was a figure of what appeared to be a woman, or maybe a man with slender, hairless legs. They couldn't tell because the upper half of the intruder's body was swallowed by his or her oversized beige hoodie, and his or her face was completely hidden by the tightly strung hood.

"Can they even breathe in that?" Kaiba grimaced, unamused at the sight of this intruder. The figure could have mistakenly been dead if Kaiba hadn't bent over to catch the tiniest motion of his or her chest to indicate life. He sighed, feeling easily aggravated by this unfortunate occurrence. Perhaps this person was important, but the way they dressed said otherwise. He didn't even want to wake the person up and question him or her, _and_ he'd probably end up with more questions than answers, _and_ trivial questions only led to wasted time, _and_ **_no one_** was important enough to waste his time.

"Roland, open the door," Kaiba firmly instructed as he rose up, "I'm personally going to dump this idiot in the elevator, and I'm going to enjoy it."

Roland could have suggested a nicer, alternate solution, but he knew opposing an irritated Seto Kaiba in the morning wouldn't fare well. He silently nodded and made way for the office door to be open.

Kaiba lowered himself and slipped his arms underneath the sleeping figure, securing one arm underneath the bend of the person's soft, cold legs and the other underneath their torso. Underneath the mass of the hoodie, he could faintly make out a rather delicate frame simply from his touch. He raised himself, body in arms, which unsurprisingly didn't feel heavy. The position in which he carried the figure would have been a romantic bridal style if not for the corpse-like state of the one being carried. Instead of arms draped around the carrier's neck, her arms flowed down aimlessly, as if she had already passed away. She was a heavy sleeper.

At that point, Kaiba could tell she was definitely female, as her hoodie better outlined what appeared to be breasts. They were invisible in her side sleeping position on the couch but were much more apparent as she was carried by him. For a very brief moment, he felt odd noticing but quickly and firmly assured himself he only did so to confirm her sex.

Kaiba walked swiftly out the door and approached the elevator while Roland followed closely behind.

"This must be what Duke Devlin does every morning," Kaiba jokingly surmised to his right hand man, "dump off unconscious women after another debaucherous night."

Before Roland could even chuckle, the elevator doors sprung open and a flustered public relations manager nearly dropped his plate of coffee cups at the sight of Seto Kaiba _bridal_ carrying his client. _Seto Kaiba_ bridal carrying _anyone_ was strange.

" **HOLY SHIT!** " were the only words, rather ear-piercing words, that Reo Hamada could sputter at the unsightly display in front him. His dark brown eyes gaped at the couple, and his free hand ran through his wavy flaxen hair. The sound of his shrill screech was enough to elicit a dazed moan from the sleeping woman in Kaiba's arms. Her arms, once spilling past her sides, struck up and her legs propelled up in a dramatic stretching motion. Her sudden movement caused Kaiba to tighten and adjust his hold on the woman, but as soon as she uncovered her head, he began to lose all his strength.

Her eyes were the first feature he noticed. After her fingers loosened her hood strings and released the mask, her eyelids began to flutter. They revealed a beautiful set of light blue eyes, but they weren't beautiful in an admirable way to Kaiba. They were _hauntingly alluring_ , and he could not tear his own eyes away from hers. In his peripheral vision, he caught sight of her snowy white hair flowing freely from the hood. Kaiba felt his heartbeat and his body temperature increase simultaneously, and his arms felt like gelatin. She too appeared flustered at the sight of her carrier, cherry blossom pink graced her pale cheeks. He had no idea why he suddenly felt so weak and nauseated. He refused to believe he was attracted to this woman, this woman that looked so familiar. _Felt_ familiar.

Hamada noticed his boss' weakening strength and shoved his tray of coffee into Roland's hands. As soon as he did, Kaiba tossed the woman into Hamada's arms, who Hamada fortunately was able to support but shrieked in response to be so callously tossed.

"Get out," Kaiba brusquely demanded toward the pair. His looming six foot figure bullied average height Hamada back inside the elevator after Kaiba had pushed the elevator button to open again.

"Oh, but sir!" Hamada exclaimed and his voice sped up underneath the sheer presence of Seto Kaiba, "I've actually got an appointment with you first this morning! You can check with your secretary, and I can totally explain this situation, you see, I escorted her here twenty minutes ago, and you see this woman is my client, and I was getting coffee for her and you, but the coffee machine broke, and then I didn't want to go to another machine because those produce shitty coffee, and everyone knows you don't like your coffee from the machines because it's too watery, so I had to make a run to the KaibaCorp cafe all the way next door, and see while on the topic your cafes-"

"Hamada, _shut up_!" Kaiba growled, feeling as though he was about to pop a vessel at the incessant ramblings of his employee. " **You're fired.** "

Hamada felt his soul release from his body at the those mere words. He couldn't even argue against his boss because he was so replaceable as the public relations manager of KaibaCorp. It wasn't a job field that Kaiba highly regarded in his business, but the job sure meant everything to Hamada.

"Wait just a second," an insistent voice erupted from the woman in Hamada's arms. He had forgotten about her. "Ah, could you please let me down now? I think I'm getting tired of being held today," she warmly requested and followed with a nervous laugh. After being put down by Hamada, she straightened herself, attempted to brush her hair with her fingers, and then glared toward Kaiba's displeased face.

"Please don't fire Mr. Hamada!" She insisted, "I know he's quite young, and you being the great big tech gee-," she quickly tried to prevent herself from saying geek by wrongly pronouncing "genius" with the hard "g" instead of the soft one. The white haired woman bit her lip as she noticed Kaiba's already thin patience get thinner by her poor speech recovery but quickly continued her point after, "- that you are, you probably don't value his job position, but he's saved your public image in more ways than one!"

"I don't care about my image," Kaiba snickered at her pathetic argument, "Nice try, but I already know several people call me a dick behind my back. Actually, I've had it frequently told to my face as well, and I still don't care."

Kaiba had had enough of this nonsense, so he jabbed the button for the elevator doors to close and walked out the elevator shaft. He motioned Roland to follow him, but the sound of elevator doors opening again caused him to stop in his tracks.

"If you fire Mr. Hamada, then who will you replace him with?" She coolly asked loudly.

"Any idiot paid with a good salary can act as PR manager," Kaiba refused to turn around as he shouted back angrily.

"But Mr. Hamada isn't any idiot. He might be an idiot in your eyes, but he must be a damn good one to cover up most of your nasty personality and paint you as some technological _saint_. You might not care about how the common public thinks of you, but he's made you appear more approachable and appealing to even "important" people like your shareholders."

Kaiba kept silent, back still facing the girl.

"I've heard it's pretty difficult being head of KaibaCorp's public relations, and it's even more difficult to find someone as passionate and dedicated as Mr. Hamada to constantly save your ass in the eyes of the people, the people who _buy_ your company's products. You can bribe a _third rate_ PR person with _fourth rate_ communication and journalism skills, but you'll find yourself regretting it when they fail to solve your future scandals."

Kaiba could hear the woman run out of breath after she finished her speech. He turned around and crossed his arms. Getting rid of this woman was going to be annoying.

"What's your name?" Kaiba demanded it rather than asked.

The woman's eyes widened as she brushed her hair behind her ears and straightened herself up once again.

"Kisara Amano," she answered softly and her face blushed once more. From her tone and voice, Kaiba closed his eyes and took her to be the same woman that left him stranded at a coffee shop all those years ago. It pained him to actually still remember her and the unexpected embarrassment she had caused, and he could feel his head start to ache. Despite having repressed any thoughts of her that emerged in the subsequent years, all those unpleasant emotions from that initial emotion bubbled in Kaiba's mind.

"From your reaction, I'm guessing you remember me personally," Kaiba snidely remarked, opening his eyes, "You make a good argument for Hamada. I would tell him to take you out sometime, but knowing how you treat your dates, I feel bad. He'd be stood up on top of being **still fired**."

The impervious CEO walked towards the elevator again. Hamada looked immobile as he stood behind Kisara, feeling his life force fade away the closer Kaiba neared. He should have defended himself instead of Kisara doing so, but being the one targeted made him lose all the courage he had. Normally he was able to smoothly talk with corporate goons similar to Kaiba, but they weren't the ones who paid his salary. Hamada closed his eyes and prayed that once he got fired, he'd at least still get paid for the month. When he opened his eyes, he saw Kisara grabbing Kaiba's hand.

Kaiba reached for the elevator buttons, but Kisara quickly captured his hand with both of hers. As soon as her delicate hands wrapped around his single one, he felt a surge of electricity generate from that simple touch. His eyes slightly widened as hers stared up at his. Hers were still so captivating.

"Please, Mr. Kaiba," Kisara's voice toned down from her previous, louder words but kept the same sincerity, "You admit I gave a good defense on Mr. Hamada, so why are you still insistent on him being fired? I think you're letting personal resentment held against me blind your judgement, and I also think that's quite... _unprofessional_ of you."

"Why, y-you," Kaiba stuttered in the face of Kisara's words. Her hands began to tighten around his hand, increasing his heart rate and making his face feel warm. How could this woman tell him how he treat _his_ employees?

"Mr. Hamada and I have been scheduling this appointment with you weeks beforehand concerning a business venture. Before you decide to fire him, please listen to us first. If you don't like his business proposal, then I guess you have the right to finally fire him for wasted time," Kisara sighed before continuing, "and I'm so very sorry about wasting your time as well, now….and seven years ago. I know there's no way we can just walk over to your office and continue, so can we please reschedule?"

"Fine," He curtly responded, but he still could not bring himself to forgive her for what happened years back. Kaiba took his hand back, freeing himself from Kisara's hold.A part of him was scared at the possibility that her hands had taken notice of his sped pulse, which was ridiculous because her hands held his actual hand, not his wrist where his pulse was. He desperately didn't want her getting suggestive thoughts at his uncontrollable heartbeat.

"S-sir!" Hamada spoke up as he moved up a bit more and bowed, "Thank you for your reconsideration!" He rose and continued, "I'm sorry for wasting your morning! It was my fault for being late with the coffee and thus was unable to explain my business proposal. I know how you value punctuality! I really want to talk with you soon, and since your schedule is probably filled in the coming weeks, may I suggest going out during your lunch break later this week? I will pay! Or maybe meet on the weekend?"

"I like to value my time on the weekends away from idiots like you," Kaiba scowled, "but I'll see to it my secretary notifies you when I'm available for lunch. Your job is on the line, so you better make it worthwhile."

With one last glance at Kisara, Kaiba pressed the elevator button to close the door before exiting and strode toward his office with Roland trailing behind, with the coffee tray Hamada brought.

* * *

Kisara felt a lump in her throat as she watched the CEO walk away and the doors eclipse his figure.

"Oh my gosh, I think I'm going to DIE of embarrassment!" Kisara's face was boiling and her cheeks were redder than the faint rose that graced her cheeks when previously in front of Kaiba. Her hands started to cover her face and her words started to jumble, "I can't believe he remembered after all theseyearssrbeuahkewj-"

Hamada stared at the young woman blankly. Just a mere seconds ago, she had been braver than most employees, or even other corporate heads, could ever hope to be in front of the overbearing Seto Kaiba, and here she was now, nearly fainting over in.

"Ms. Amano, if it helps you...you have my deepest thanks," Hamada spoke up, making sure to speak loudly enough to override Kisara's wailing.

Kisara lifted her head and peered sheepishly at Hamada.

"I couldn't let him fire someone as qualified as you, and I _really do_ want our business deal to work out," a faint smile started to form on her lips. She pressed the lobby button, and the elevator transported them downwards.

"Ah, also," Kisara brightly grinned as she started to take off her hoodie, "Thank you for letting me borrow your hoodie. I forget how cold office buildings get to combat the summer heat!" She took off the hoodie, revealing a simple navy blue polka dotted tank top and white shorts, and handed it off to Hamada just before the elevator doors opened at the lobby.

"No problem," Hamada flashed an equally grateful smile toward Kisara as he caught his hoodie. The two walked out the elevator, but he paused shortly and grabbed Kisara's wrist.

"But word of advice, when we go out for that lunch meeting, wear something more serious. Mr. Kaiba isn't as easily lured by, uh, the likes of your current outfit," he nervously glanced at the woman's chest area, hoping she'd realize what he meant. Her tank top was at a decent length, but Kisara's, for lack of better word, larger than average bust size made it appear skimpy.

"Ohh," Kisara caught on and smoothly replied, "I understand." It wasn't the first time she was told to dress into something that appeared more appropriate for her body. She should've known better than to appear in front of some hotshot CEO in a simple tank and shorts. God she felt stupid, probably because her hasty dress choice _was_ stupid.

"It's not that you look bad, in fact I think you look...beautiful," Hamada confessed, feeling his face get hot, "But I'm afraid that would look down on you, and we really need to make better impressions the next time around."

"Then what does Mr. Kaiba prefer?"

"Safest bet is professional clothing, or something elegant," Hamada looked to the side and furrowed his brows, "And I hate to sound shallow, but you looking good for would help greatly with our business proposal. It's relevant."

"You're absolutely right," Kisara agreed, "Gosh, I only dressed like this because it's boiling outside. I'm an actual idiot. I hope I can find something really nice and suitable for summer and your boss. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise we got rescheduled, huh?" She giggled, and Hamada joined in on the laughter. It took her awhile to notice that his hand was still gently embracing her wrist.

"Well," Kisara placed her other hand on his grip before continuing, "I have to leave for work soon, and I assume you have to go back to yours. You still have my number, right? You can text me all the rules I need to follow in order to satisfy thee _great and powerful_ Seto Kaiba." She flashed him that pearlescent smile of hers, transforming his stomach into butterflies. It had been a while since Hamada felt that way.

"Of course," Hamada let go of her wrist and smiled back once again, "I'll contact you about the date, see you!"

She waved goodbye and walked through the spinning doors of KaibaCorp. Hamada returned the wave and proceeded to turn back around into the elevator. It was the start of another work day, and hopefully, _not_ one of the last ones.

* * *

 _Dead and lifeless. She was newly deceased and laid across his arms. A torn, ragged beige dress clothed her expired body. Her face was serene and appeared to have been satisfied with what she had done. Her arms and legs lifelessly spilled over._

 _ **Thud. Thud. Thud.**_

 _There went the pulsating of his heart and mind, thundering audibly, feeling as though his heart could have leapt from his mouth and onto the very ground where her blood had spilt. It was as if every single beat dedicated itself into waking her up, each beat increasingly getting louder and louder, crying out to the Gods themselves._

 _And then, she changed._

 _Her clothes were no longer torn but completed in the form of a hoodie, and she gasped as life had been blessed back inside. Her eyelids popped open and her brilliant baby blue eyes became visible._

 _And then, she changed back again._

 _The same woman alternated back and forth and forth and back, each version appearing in smaller psychedelic intervals._

 ** _Thud. Thud. Thud._**

Kaiba's eyes shot wide open as he laid flat against his bed that night, and he felt the wind in his throat get knocked out by an invisible fist. A cold sweat had begun to form on his entire body from his dream.

The same yet different vision. How annoying.

He groaned and slipped underneath his blanket, disregarded his hallucinations, and prayed he'd get enough hours to function for tomorrow's work day.

* * *

More Notes: Although Kaiba was 18 during the prologue, he is 24 now. His birthday is October 25th, so the prologue was staged in the later half of the year whereas right now it is staged during late June.

I was hesitant to add the last part to this chapter, and I really hope it's not too fast to dip into the whole Ancient Egypt segment. I will say that even though I've already delved into the Egyptian memories and whatnot, I don't plan on it being a huge factor off the bat.

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 2: Monotonous

**Hey hey hey, this fanfic isn't dead, I'm just hella busy and this is something I write in the little spare time that I have. I don't have much commentary to provide so...**

 **-shrug-**

* * *

"Roland, the Korean ambassador for Samsung is about to be here in half an hour on floor five, room 571c, so could you make sure everyone employed by me isn't being a moron?"

The following Tuesday morning, Kaiba graciously situated himself at his desk. There were no intruders loitering on his office couch and no blubbering public relations managers to ruin his day. It was a perfect, uneventful start to a normal work day. It would have been more ideal for him to have had a good night's sleep, but the visions of _her_ that plagued his mind last night made it all too difficult.

He pushed memories of last night away as he broke out his laptop, a model he had designed himself, unreleased to the public. KaibaCorp had not entered the computer industry just yet, but Kaiba believed that it wouldn't take long for him to dominate the likes of future competitors. There were also underlying plans for a line of smartphones, but, despite being a risk-taker, Kaiba had to keep in mind the fact that KaibaCorp was known as a gaming and entertainment corporation. His company's focus was always duel monsters related, but recent years had urged him to undertake other fields.

As usual, he was responding to a plethora of emails while his secretary walked inside and greeted him.

"A cup of coffee and a bagel as usual."

Kaiba glanced up to see Lily Wong set down his breakfast. Her jet black hair was pulled back in a tight bun and her dark brown eyes didn't even bat an eyelash at her boss. Instead, they immediately zoned in on the tablet in her hand. The Chinese lady never made small talk unless _engaged_ in small talk, always delving into business straight away, and that was why Kaiba had kept her as his secretary longer than the others. There were rumors when she first started that she gained her position because of her beautiful face and pleasantly slender figure, and there were also rumors suggesting an intimate relationship between her and her boss. However, Kaiba never held interest, and she didn't either. Professional relationships were strictly professional, yet people never let go of their suspicions.

"Thanks," he responded and reached for his usual plain black coffee, eyes focused on his laptop and the other hand furiously typing. As he brought the cup to his lips, he caught a whiff of fruitiness. He stopped typing and glanced at the cup in his hands. His eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar cup. The logo wasn't the KC brand as it normally was. Instead, it said "Douceur de Devlin."

"Sir, you have a meeting with your shareholders at 9 and-"

"Wong, what is _this_?" Kaiba cut his secretary off to crisply question the origins of his coffee. It was a minor detail in the grand scheme of his career, but for years that minor detail had always been black coffee from his own company's café next door.

"Ah," Lily lifted her eyes from her tablet and looked at her boss as she calmly explained, "I just moved to a new place, and that café was near. I checked it out this morning for myself and got you one too. It's good, and that _hottie_ Duke Devlin owns it."

"It better not be one of those sweet ones composed of 1% actual coffee," Kaiba grimaced as he started testing the drink. He had no qualms about the coffee coming from his own branch or Duke Devlin's, he just really hoped the one in his hand would get him through the day.

Lily's nose crinkled in disgust and agreed, "Of course not. It's the best black coffee they have. Anyways, your schedule goes like this today…."

Kaiba listened to his secretary list out his schedule as he continued replying to emails and composing some of his own. He found himself reaching for his new coffee more frequently than he had his normal one. It was strong and smooth, with an absence of bitterness that usually came with black coffee. It was only until he had finished it and Wong had walked out the door before he caught a peculiar illustration doodled by sharpie on his coffee cup.

He reached for the cup and raised it to his eye level. He didn't know how to react when he saw a drawing of a simple egg in a nest. Kaiba tossed the cup into the trash can next to his desk and went on his day.

"Wong. Make sure to schedule my lunch meeting with whoever that public relations manager was and that woman for next Monday."

* * *

Lily Wong would start bringing in the same coffee from Duke Devlin's coffee shop the rest of the week. She figured that since her boss wasn't complaining about the new coffee, she'd purchase his along with hers. She herself was addicted to Devlin's espresso.

And everyday up until Friday, the little egg would slowly crack. On Wednesday, the egg was drawn to have cracks, with pieces of the shell drawn around the next. On Thursday, an eye appeared from the egg, glaring at Kaiba. On Friday, the head of the creature emerged. On Friday morning, the edge of Kaiba's lips curled up into a full blown smile. Lily caught him smiling.

"Um...excuse me sir," she cleared her throat after choking a little, "Is everything alright?"

Kaiba was a bit preoccupied as he recognized the creature drawn on his coffee cup to be that of a baby blue eyes white dragon. The past week had been entertaining to see the little dragon start to hatch in the form of little doodles. He glanced up at his secretary.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why?"

"Uh," Lily nervously laughed, "You never randomly smile. It's quite abnormal of you."

"Have you noticed these doodles on my coffee cup?" He held up his cup for her to see.

"I haven't noticed actually."

"Do the baristas know you get coffee for me?"

Lily tapped her tablet against her chin as she tried remembering the first time she purchased coffee from Douceur de Devlin before answering, "Actually, I did tell the drive-thru person that your cup of coffee better be caffeinated and taste good enough for a CEO. I didn't tell him specifically it was you, but I was wearing the KaibaCorp nameplate. Guess he had a sharp eye. Ah, anyways, your schedule for today.…"

Kaiba decided to keep the last cup.

* * *

That same Friday evening, Kaiba had finished his final activity of the day - another meeting. He sat at the end of the long table where businessmen had spat at each other over each and every minor detail of design plans for an upcoming academy. He was the last one in the room after bidding everyone else farewell for another productive meeting. As he glanced out at the blind covered windows, an exasperated sigh escaped his breath. It was around eight when he finished, a full hour later than usual. The sky, parted by the steel grey blinds, appeared fractured and limited. Years ago, it felt like the sky was so clear. His future was crystal. Lead KaibaCorp. Make money. Be the front for Japanese gaming innovation. Care for Mokuba.

But now, it was about as clear as mud water. He kept his young adult midlife crisis to himself, however. Any sign of weakness from him could lead to a tumult in his company's stocks. He had to keep up his image of some corporate machine.

At the slamming of his briefcase, he shut his thoughts.

* * *

Kaiba pressed his hand against his apartment's identification scanner.

Sometime during his college days, he had opted for a more practical shelter than the rather palatial Kaiba mansion - a penthouse in one the most exclusive buildings in Domino City. He didn't mind the neighbors because they never bothered him; Well, he was barely home to have neighbors over anyways. The residents of the grandiose Asagi Towers skyscraper were all of high financial caliber, most coming from new money, and most of them sought the building to avoid the public. Thus, most kept to themselves.

He still opted for one of the best penthouses in the city, albeit not necessarily gigantic in comparison to his previous mansion. It was only a three-bedroom one with two baths, a kitchen, a living room, and a study room. Despite being quite small compared to his previous house, all the accommodations and aspects were nonetheless the height of city luxury, from high ceilings to jacuzzis and the pool that hung over the city skyline.

The moment he had signed the papers to purchase the penthouse, Mokuba had declared that Kaiba had signed his marriage papers to his job. Kaiba had primarily chosen the place in order to be closer to Kaiba Corporations, but he tried covering his intention by reasoning that it was a closer commute to Domino University, and that it would be more convenient for Mokuba in the future when he would be attending the same college. After all, their previous castle of a home was an hour commute, as it was located in the outskirts of Domino. However, that argument, despite it being logical, didn't faze his little brother's initial suspicions.

On the topic of his little brother, Mokuba Kaiba, now age 19, had grown quite handsomely. His previously long and bushy black hair had been cut at a much shorter length, and his height had even surpassed his older brother's by a mere inch. His face was always lively, a stark contrast against his brother's generally dismal one, and his violet eyes were often defined as his most charming feature. In fact, Mokuba had garnered much attention and adoration for his good looks that the public started associating him as the face of Kaiba Corporations.

As soon as he stepped into his apartment, Mokuba yelled from across the living room.

"Seto, I had dinner with a girl, and I still got home earlier!"

Kaiba found his little brother sitting up on the couch with the TV remote in hand.

"Well you probably didn't get that far if you got home at like 8," Kaiba smirked as he set his briefcase on the living room table.

"I'm classy," Mokuba winked, "I never sleep with a girl on the first date."

"Until like the billionth one," Kaiba shook his head as he ventured into the kitchen.

"You should try commitment sometime," Mokuba remarked as he followed Kaiba into the kitchen, "By the way, I brought you food from the restaurant we ate at. Thai."

Kaiba grunted in response to his little brother's remark about commitment. He pulled out what looked like a takeout box in the fridge, put the food on a plate, and tossed it into the microwave.

"You know, one night stands don't count as real relationships," Mokuba continued.

Kaiba stayed quiet as the microwave continued heating his food. As soon as the microwave beeped, he took out his food and sat on one of the stools situated next to the kitchen island.

"Don't believe the tabloids," he started chewing his pad thai.

"Well, you never even talk about your romance life, even to me," Mokuba complained as he sidled up on the next stool, "You know, you're either a sex god or a hopeless virgin in everyone's eyes."

"And that would be absolutely _horrendous_ if I actually cared about everyone else's opinion about my sex life," Kaiba sighed in between bites before continuing, "It's really unimportant, Mokuba. I assure you, I'm neither at risk of STDs or sexually incompetent. Why have you been bothering me so much about this lately?"

"Agh-" Mokuba rushed his hand through his hair in frustration, folded his arms on the table, and started being quiet as his head stooped low.

Kaiba continued eating his food. Right about down to the last bite, he looked to the side to view his suddenly depressed brother.

"What's wrong?"

Mokuba sighed as he raised his head.

"I'm really sorry Seto," he felt a lump in his throat as he explained, "I was planning to tell you on my birthday, but its been eating away at me. I-I got accepted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a transfer student in March of this year…and I committed. I already cleared my status as a student at Domino University."

Kaiba stared blankly at his brother. For a moment,he didn't know how to feel. For that long, his brother had kept that bit of rather important information from him. He had a gut feeling he was the last to know. However, his brother had gotten into the best college for his intended major - computer engineering.

"I'm proud of you, Moki," Kaiba softly said as a huge smile graced his face. He raised one arm to reassuringly press on Mokuba's shoulder, "But why is it that you kept this from me?" As that question escaped Kaiba's mouth, he could feel a knot form in his stomach. He felt like Mokuba's answer would hurt him. The one person he one hundred percent cared for in the entire world had decided to keep such wonderful news in secret, and that bothered Kaiba.

"I was kind of intimidated by how you would react to the news, and I felt really guilty as well. You were always the genius, the child prodigy, so school was nothing hard for you. Not even Domino University was difficult. I know your attendance record to Domino was better than any year you had in high school, but you still handled college like it was a side thing since you had work and everything else. The only reason why you settled for Domino was because of its close proximity to KaibaCorp. Also, you were one of the youngest people to already have a Ph.D. in computer science," Mokuba took in a breath, "What I'm trying to say is, I didn't think you'd understand how much I really want to expand my learning to someplace more challenging...how much I _need_ to because you're so naturally smart. I'm quite gifted in computer engineering from years of observing at KaibaCorp, but nowhere near like you. I want to be challenged just a bit more, at a place outside of my comfort zone, at a place kind of outside your shadow."

Kaiba listened intently to Mokuba as he let out all his reasonings. Although the two were close as brothers, times like this when they spoke heart to heart were uncommon.

"Mokuba, I'm sorry that you felt that I couldn't understand, but there is no way I would stop you from wanting to live your life-"

"Not only that!" Mokuba interjected in a half-shout as his eyes directly met Kaiba's this time, "But you can't take care of yourself, Seto! The thing I'm scared of the most is you dropping dead from too much work and skipping meals when I'm gone. You can say you're going to take care of yourself but you're _not_. That's why I've kind of been trying to pry into your romance life. Like is there anybody else, like a romantic interest, _anybody_ , who can take care of you? Honestly, when was the last time you went out with anybody, even one friend, who _wasn't_ a business partner?"

Kaiba was silenced by Mokuba's accusations and outbursts. This time, it was more than a moment for him to figure out his emotions. Although there were previous times when his brother would point out his poor health and inability to have an active social life, Mokuba had never been this expressive.

"I made a promise years ago that _I_ would be the one to take care of _you_ ," Kaiba firmly responded, "but if I have to make a promise now to take care of myself in order to put your mind at ease, then I _will_ make it. There isn't that someone else you want to take care of me in place of you, but I _will_ make it. Mokuba, I need you to trust that I can take care of myself. I'll take care of myself so you can live and study guilt-free in America. I want you to live your life."

Mokuba relieved a large sigh as he pressed his fingers against his temples before responding.

"I honestly can't entirely believe you, but I guess that's alright for now," Mokuba concluded as a small smile started to emerge on his face, "Thanks for listening, Seto. I'm really glad I got to tell you everything."

Kaiba got up and took his dish to the sink to wash it. He looked over his shoulder.

"Anytime. Now what are you getting into as a third-year MIT student?"

Mokuba grinned at the question and ensued an intriguing conversation regarding database systems, multicore programming, and all else tech related that only the Kaiba brothers could talk about for hours into the night.

* * *

But Kaiba didn't sleep well that night. What Mokuba had confessed still bugged him. It felt surreal to think his little brother was the one taking care of him, to think that Mokuba consciously felt that way the past few years. He only slept for a few hours. Despite trying his best to suspend himself into sleep, he ended up waking at an ungodly hour. There was no way he would be able to go back to a peaceful slumber, so he forced himself out of bed, got dressed, and left his apartment.

Kaiba's eyes glazed at the neon lighting of "Douceur de Devlin" as he took a pause to view the storefront. The bright scarlet lighting was one of many existing, radiant lusters in the bustling nightlife of Domino. The café was a two story wonder with much emphasis on the rooftop area. He knew it wasn't at all rational to be dreaming of such specific coffee before the sun rose on a Saturday morning, but the past week's coffee served on his office table had been convincing enough.

As soon as he entered the cafe, he took note of the luxurious interiors that only Duke Devlin could possibly implicate upon a mere coffee shop. Despite the rather outlandish lavishness of the cafe, it was classy enough than gaudy. The red, black, and cream tones of the interior made out nicely along with the crisp white marble flooring. A sneaking suspicion crept onto Kaiba as he actually wondered why Duke had even started a 24 hour coffee business.

He was the only customer, yet he made sure that he had slipped his hoodie over his head. It was a sight to see Seto Kaiba dressed in the most casual of clothes - a black hoodie, sweatpants, and slides for shoes. He approached the order counter towards a young man, rather handsome and rivaling that of Devlin with his chiseled facial structure, stark silver eyes, and black brown hair. A charismatic grin emerged on the man's face as Kaiba came into view. Kaiba noticed his name tag as "Sora."

"Hello, welcome to Devlin's! What can I get for you this morning?"

Kaiba was taken slightly aback by the unorthodox cheeriness of this man. For someone working a shift so early, he had an overly joyous disposition. The salaries at this place had to be above average or something.

"I...don't exactly know the name of the coffee-" Kaiba was cut off by Sora.

"No worries!" Sora mused, "I can always recommend you popular drinks."

"I've had it brought to me the past week. It's a dark blend. Very smooth and caffeinated," Kaiba quickly chimed in before the cashier could possibly go on a tangent.

Sora ran his left hand through his wavy hair as he scrutinized the man in front of him.

"Ah - Seto Kaiba? Haha, I gotchu, good thing we got the barista who makes your coffee working right now," Sora started tapping the order in as he continued talking, "You know as soon as your secretary or whatever mentioned how her boss was a CEO, and I recognized her nameplate was KaibaCorp branded, she went out her way to make this special blend. Haha, if I didn't catch on who you were, there was no way you could've ordered that. It really is a unique coffee she made you, but she's good at that stuff you know. Anyways, would you like something else? We have pastries and sandwiches."

"Just the coffee," Kaiba answered deadpanned. He couldn't for the life of him figure if this Sora guy was fooling him. Kaiba couldn't wrap his brain around the idea that some random barista had dedicated a drink to him.

"Alrighty, card or cash?"

"Card."

"Ok. Just swipe here, and we'll have your drink shortly. Thanks for ordering from Devlin's!"

After Kaiba swiped his credit card, he quickly sidled to the pick-up counter to avoid any unnecessary small talk with the cashier. As social as he was in business situations, he never really indulged in voluntary ones. It didn't take long for someone to emerge from the kitchen with his drink.

"Seto Kaiba-" a feminine voice softly spoke. It faded into obscurity quickly.

Kaiba's eyes drifted to his drink and picked it up before meeting face to face with his past. It was the weary face of Kisara. His eyes stared into hers for a numbingly long time. He let the heat of the coffee cup sear into his skin, as he couldn't find the words to communicate to her from his confusing mixture of emotions, nor could he find the will to move. He got to analyze her face more. It was delicately small, framed by straight but slightly arched brows, a set of wide, soft baby blue eyes, a finely sloped nose, and heart-shaped lips. He also noticed her dark circles, ones that were better than his but nonetheless showed signs of fatigue.

"Ah, yes! Our top barista!" Sora scooted over and patted Kisara's head affectionately.

"Ugh, Sora," the woman complained as she lifted Sora's hand, "You're embarrassing me…I need to go back into the kitchen and restock our supplies. Enjoy your drink, Mr. Kaiba."

With a bow, she quickly turned heel and disappeared. And with that, Kaiba evaded all social interaction by disappearing into the rooftop of the cafe.

* * *

It was actually fantastical. The rooftop area was decked with multi-colored fairy lights that gave an enchanting luminescence to the seating area. White cushioned seats lined the deck of the rooftop and a variety of plants were placed as decoration. It gave a more natural feel compared to the interior. The building was not tall, so it did not offer a skyscraper's view, but the rooftop boasted a breathtaking view of the ocean. When the city was not so loud, as it was right then and there, the roaring purrs of the ocean could faintly be made out.

Kaiba sat himself at a two-person table, settling himself comfortably in a cozy cushioned wicker chair. Before he took a sip, he took a closer look at the coffee cup. This time, the baby blue eyes white dragon had evolved into its full-grown shape. It was a reflection of the same monster that he held near and dear to his heart. Kaiba grew weary at the thought of his favorite duel monster and his irrational attachment to it. He supposed that it was an unhealthy obsession, to claim that the blue eyes white dragon could only be wielded by him when in actuality, anybody with hands could summon the same card. His excuse for his infatuation was that the blue eyes was the strongest normal summon monster, and therefore it was necessary for him to own all three cards in order to become the strongest duelist in the world.

But it was more than that. He felt the feeling in his gut. In his heart. It was silly, he knew, but he couldn't ignore the habitual euphoria that rushed in his veins every time he summoned the blue eyes white dragon. He couldn't forget that one duel in the first Battle City against Ishizu Ishtar, when he could actually feel the dragon call out to him, communicate to him that she was the one to be chosen over the much more powerful obelisk, that she was his partner in defying the destiny that Ishizu claimed could foresee, that she was worth sacrificing a god for. She…

Since when did he start referring to the blue eyes white dragon as a she?

"You've been staring a little bit too long at your drink. Are you the type that can't stand a little bit of heat?"

An amused, yet lightly worn voice emerged in front of Kaiba. The man broke his stare and thoughts in order to gaze at his visitor. It was Kisara. She had taken it upon herself to sit in the opposing seat and had her own coffee cup that she held firmly between her hands.

Kaiba stayed silent, not really sure how he should respond. He simply drank his coffee. Palatable. As usual.

"Ignoring me, huh," Kisara surmised as the corners of her lips folded up into a weak smile, "Well, I guess I very much deserve that." She let out a sigh and rested back into her chair, taking in sips of her own coffee. She let go her stare on Kaiba and longingly faced the ocean.

The fairy lights illuminated her beauty. Her glistening long white hair had the most exquisite affair with the rays of light. Colors danced on it, shining so hard that it appeared her hair was glowing in variations of saturated hues. Kaiba couldn't break his stare. He'd noticed that every time he looked at her, he found it hard to escape his curiosities, so he decided to speak up before it turned creepy.

"It's good coffee," he bluntly stated.

Kisara turned her head to face him again, eyebrows high as if she was so shocked that he decided to converse with her.

"Thank you," she responded as her weak smile evolved into a more genuine shape, "I'm glad you're enjoying it. It's the darkest blend I make, not a lot of people need that much caffeine in their lives, but I suspect you're not like most."

"You suspect correctly," Kaiba blandly continued, "It's gotten me through the day better than other blends." As much as he enjoyed his daily cup of coffee, he wasn't too interested in analyzing coffee to the bean. He just needed to a plain conversation as an excuse to look at her.

"Well, I sure hope it does. I make it for myself as well. It's for the busiest of people," Kisara happily noted.

"If you're so busy, then why are you up here instead of the kitchen?" Kaiba's tone grew unfriendlier as he slowly started to recall his first encounter, or rather lack of one, with her.

Kisara raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at her coffee buddy, recognizing his sour tone. She set down her drink on the table and leaned back, legs crossed and arms folded.

"Hmm...I could say the same for Mr. Hot-Shot-CEO right here. You've got a multi-billion dollar company underneath your feet that could easily topple over in a day. Why are you out here on a fine Saturday morning getting coffee at an inconvenient location when you should be squirreled up in your mansion, stabbing analytics and business whatnots into your eyes?"

She didn't like being looked down upon. Well he didn't either.

"Because unlike you," Kaiba set his coffee down with emphasis, "I'm not at the mercy of an employer who pays me minimum wage. I _own_ people who make me a million's worth of their salary, therefore I can definitely afford days, if not years, of work off. The fact that you're working on a Saturday as a barista at your age indicates your lack of career and education. I have good reason to look down on _you_ , but you don't have any against _me_. So tell me, why are you up here and insulting me?"

Poison laced his words. He knew he was overbearing. He was Seto Kaiba. He was always self-aware of his tyrannical self-conduct, and the worse thing was that he didn't give a fuck. He knew he hurt her from the motions of her eyes downcast towards her lap. Other than that one small motion, she remained stone frozen.

After what seemed like eons, she finally looked to her side, towards the wide escape of the ocean. Kaiba, intrigued, followed her viewpoint. He didn't like being ignored, but she had viable reason to ignore him after what he said. All he saw was that the sun had decided to finally rise up from the depths of the ocean, leaking its warm rays across Domino City and signaling light onto the disparities of yesterday.

"Because…" Kisara softly spoke, "I didn't come up for you. I always come for the sunrise. Maybe, for just one second, every time I see the sunrise, I can forget about how shitty my monotonous life was a day ago and hope for something new the next day." Her eyes drifted back toward Kaiba, and they were dead, soulless. She had no interest in listening to whatever cynical comment Kaiba had to offer, so she took her coffee and left.

 _Something new. Monotonous life._ As much as Kaiba despised feeling some sort of connection to the girl that left him, he couldn't help but linger over the truth of her words and how they too defined his current course of life as he stayed perched upon the rooftop, swallowing his coffee while looking at the sunrise.

* * *

 **This fanfic develops spontaneously in my head haha, but I always have the end goal of finishing it :) Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy it so far! I know my writing can be pretty dense, and the plot isn't moving too fast, but I promise that it'll be better in the big picture.**


	4. Chapter 3: Lunch

**Author's Note:** Yes, I'm alive after the last chapter! Which was a month or two ago haha. Even though I have a general outline, I keep putting in new ideas that really need fully develop later on, ack! Really looking forward to writing future chapters!

On my usage of Reo and Hamada interchangeably, I want to denote the differences between Kaiba's third person POV and Kisara's POV.

* * *

"Mr. Kaiba, it's time for your lunch break," Lily Wong's voice rang from the intercom.

Kaiba winced as he heard his secretary announce his inevitable lunch meeting with Hamada and Kisara. All motion of his stopped sharply, from the tapping of his laptop keyboard to his sharp breath. He closed his eyes and simultaneously set his laptop screen down. Once his eyes flickered open, he promptly stood up, gathered his briefcase, and walked towards his office door.

A second before his hand touched the door knob, his head rotated to the right, viewing the full-body mirror plastered onto his office wall. He cleared his throat and straightened his silver tie. He dressed himself in a stately navy blue suit with a black dress shirt underneath. Although he dressed nicely everyday to fit his role as a businessman, he somewhat dressed better than usual. His eyes squinted at his reflection in the mirror, feeling a bit more irritated by his ghastly dark circles. He faced the door once again and left.

* * *

Kisara repeatedly analyzed her reflection in the mirror of the bathroom inside Esquisse - a French restaurant located in the heart of Domino's food district. It was a little bit too fancy for her liking or (her income's liking), but Seto Kaiba's tastes aligned with it, or so Hamada had insisted. The man that she would be meeting today had agreed to pay her bill, so she felt the need to dress up. She had on a classic black mini dress with spaghetti straps and a full face of makeup. She had even opted to put on a pair of heels, despite them being torture devices.

She was accustomed to making herself look pretty for others.

She stepped out the bathroom and returned to her reserved seat. She played around with the impressive diversity of silverware displayed in front of her, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number. One fork had to be for salad, one for steak, or maybe something else? God, what was the point? While she was busy being preoccupied with silverware, someone had situated himself into the chair next to hers.

"Kisara, how are you?"

Kisara's eyes lifted toward the warm, dark eyes of Reo Hamada, KaibaCorp's greatest public relations manager.

"Reo! I've been doing well since. I told you about what happened with him on Saturday, right? I'm not really feeling comfortable seeing him again," Kisara spoke softer as her sentences finished. Her eyes expressed concern.

"Ah, yes," Reo cleared his throat, "That might be a minor setback, but I believe that he will definitely shoot you down if you show any sign of weakness. I suggest that…"

Kisara was listening intently to Reo's words, but her eyes couldn't as they wandered off towards the entrance. A slim, tall figure had approached the entrance with an aura that could be detected from half a mile. It was none other than Seto Kaiba. He entered with the most perfect of postures, a contradiction to the hours he spent bent over his technology. If his personality weren't so wretched, Kisara's heart could have skipped a beat at how well-polished the businessman appeared to be. He looked more different, more attractive in a sense, but only if one looked at the outside. There was no doubt that Kaiba was one of the most handsome bachelors in all of Domino, if not Japan, but there was also no doubt that his ruthlessness and pettiness often, if not always, overshadowed his good looks.

Kisara's mind was sent into turmoil with thoughts of Saturday, when he had insulted her without real premise. It sickened her to be disrespected and judged based off her occupation. He truly did crush anybody "lower" than him in the labor force, and that was a repulsive habit of his in her eyes.

"...I'll be here. Right next to you. So don't worry, Kisara," Reo's last words were the only ones left that processed through Kisara's mind. She warmly smiled at him, embarrassed that he had put so much effort to comfort her, yet her mind could only be preoccupied by man that marginalized the both of them.

"Thank you, Reo. I feel better."

As soon as she gave thanks, Seto Kaiba had appeared by their dining table. Reo Hamada automatically stood up and stretched out his right hand in greeting.

"Glad you could make it, Mr. Kaiba. We're really grateful for this chance to converse with you."

Kaiba glared for a second at Reo's outstretched hand before offering his own hand.

"This better not be a waste of my time," he sharply responded, "because it may as well be a waste of your job."

Reo blinked a couple times as he retracted his hand. It seemed very much impossible to appease his boss, even with the most polite of attitudes.

"It won't be a waste," a firm, yet kind voice emerged from Kisara as she too stood up to offer her hand, "if you're open to listening."

Kaiba was taken slightly aback by her rigid tone, but he met her hand regardless.

Kisara was surprised by how warm his hand felt. For someone so cold-blooded, she half-expected him to generate icicles to pierce anybody he held hands with. At this instance, however, he felt almost homely, felt like the warmth of a fire stoked in the heart of a home. If anything, this feeling was the same one that generated through her body when she was carried by him. She wasn't awake at the time, but she had dreams of rolling sands and cozy sun…

She sat back down, careful to stop her thoughts short. The men sat down as well, Kaiba parallel to her.

"If you two are ready, I already know what I'm ordering," Kaiba announced, not even glancing at the menu in front of him.

"Likewise. What about you, Kisara?" Reo answered curtly and focused his attention on the female of the table.

"Um," Kisara bit her lip, just realizing that she had not thought about what she wanted. Rather, she wasn't used to dining French cuisine and had no clue about what was good, not to mention the ridiculous costs that she didn't want to befall on her benefactor. She opened her menu and scanned for what seemed for the hundredth time until a voice spoke up.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen, and of course to the beautiful lady," a server had approached the table and laid out wine glasses. He opened what appeared to be an expensive wine bottle and poured its contents into each glass while adding, "Compliments to Seto Kaiba by Esquisse. Is everyone ready to order?"

"Thank you and yes, we're ready," Kaiba spoke before a worried Reo could cut in.

Reo's eyes flicked toward Kisara, whose eyes met back. Kisara wanted to sink into her seat, as she was still completely clueless on what to order.

"I'll have the filet mignon. The usual," Kaiba picked up his menu and handed it to the server before continuing, "And so will the lady."

Kisara's eyes widened while Reo ordered his chicken basquaise. She folded up her menu and handed it towards the server. As soon as the server had poured all the wine and left, Kaiba uttered, "I don't want you to waste my time by agonizing over a mere menu, now what is this proposal that I need to hear about?"

Kisara was slightly amused as she saw Kaiba reach out for his wine glass. How adorable. It appeared as if he didn't think the conversation was worth experiencing with a completely sober mind.

Reo cleared his throat before stating, "I want to instill Kisara Amano as the host for the 7th annual Battle City."

"Is this a joke? She's a _nobody_ ," Kaiba scoffed at the proposition as he set his wine glass down, "Are you implying my brother has done a defective job as host all these years?"

"No, of course not. Mokuba Kaiba is undoubtedly charismatic, and his good looks have amassed a good bit of interest from females in the crowd. I'm not suggesting a removal of his occupation, but rather an addition of Kisara."

"And what about her is so special? Does she have any credentials? The last I checked, she's not exactly the most educated of people, neither in academics nor in Duel Monsters."

"Sir-" Reo was cut off.

"Hamada, if I may pause you," Kisara interjected as she brushed her hair behind one ear and stared directly into Kaiba's eyes, "Thank you for arguing in place of me, but I think it's best I speak for myself now."

Reo gave Kisara a tight smile and readjusted the buttons on his suit jacket cuffs out of anxiousness. As much as he respected Kisara over the time her knew her, he was worried that she wouldn't be able to get through Seto Kaiba's mind, especially with the little respect he seemed to harbor for the blue-eyed beauty.

"...I think it's best I speak for myself now."

Kaiba's eyes shifted from Reo onto Kisara after she spoke, zeroing in on the growingly audacious woman. She looked...nice. More than nice and more than he would ever dare to admit. Although he wasn't very fond of makeup, whatever she had chose to draw on her face emphasized her above average features, from her fluttering lashes to her _soft, ample red lips_.

 _Fuck._

"So the doll speaks," Kaiba commented sarcastically, "Let's hope she knows how to intelligently."

A polite smile drew upon her face, an obvious attempt to mask over any feelings of contempt she had for his insults.

"Yes, you're correct in that I haven't had the most respectable of degrees. I barely managed to pass public high school, and I never pursued any form of higher education. However, you hired your brother when he was merely 12, therefore the job doesn't really require a high degree, does it?"

"He is my brother and exception to the rule. I've had numerous celebrities offer to host, and I've turned them all down. What makes you think you, as a nobody, is perfect for the job?"

"Because…" A blush crept onto her face. A smirk emerged on Kaiba's face as he took note of her flustered face.

"If I may interrupt again," Hamada spoke up at once, "I believe Ms. Amano is a bit too shy to explain her reasons, or she feels out of place. Mokuba Kaiba has played both host and commissioner for Battle City. I've observed that it's been rather taxing on him to be in these two positions recently. Now, I daresay you wouldn't trust anybody else with position of commissioner, therefore I suggest hiring someone else as host."

Kaiba was quick to remark, "Theoretically speaking, if I do choose to split Mokuba's job, would it not be better to hire someone who is actually well-known? I would think a famous duelist would be a good match as well. I could list five off the top of my head."

"I believe the risk of hiring Ms. Amano will be worth it. I'm unsure if you're aware, Mr. Kaiba, but public opinion concerning her is more than exceptional."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Kaiba's voice raised a little, confused on what Hamada was trying to argue, "I have never seen her name on any news outlet."

"Because I wanted to remain anonymous," Kisara chimed into the conversation before she could let Hamada continue arguing in her place, "There was an incident at the KaibaLand in Osaka a month ago, that I am sure you are aware of."

Kaiba's eyes glazed over Kisara's eyes. He slightly squinted as his mind tried to identify whatever had happened in one of his many theme parks. As soon as his memory clicked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"You can't be…"

"But I was…."

* * *

 **ANONYMOUS WOMAN SAVES LIVES IN KAIBALAND OSAKA**

 _"What is this?!"_

 _It was May, and Seto Kaiba's temper erupted faster than the heat of summer. His palm slammed against his podium as his other hand pointed fingers at the projection behind him. The CEO had called upon representatives of Kaibaland management to confront the recent incident that had occurred._

 _"I would really like to know how a simple citizen was able to identify a constructive fault in one of our thrill rides. How was the fault even possible? What is the point of this company hiring the brightest engineers and construction workers out there if none of them can do their damn job?! We have no tolerance for human error! It's as if all of you are begging for me to replace everyone with robots!"_

* * *

"...the woman who recognized there was something wrong in the cables of the Blue-Eyes Jet Coaster. Also, whoever was operator was rather apathetic. I tried arguing with him, but he wouldn't budge or bothered to check. I forcibly stopped the next round of rides myself by sneaking past him to get to the control center and ushering everyone to get out of their seats. I happened to make a big commotion about it and demanded closer inspection. If a few more rides continued, there would have been fatal accidents," Kisara finished her story. Although her act was heroic, she didn't voice a prideful tone. Her voice was rather concerning and soft in explanation.

"I'm curious," Kaiba crossed his arms as he interrogated her, "How were you able to recognize such a specific component of a large machine?"

"That would require me to delve into some details of my life that I'm sure you're uninterested in. Bottom line, I'm experienced with construction, and my knowledge saved people."

Kaiba didn't know how to respond. He scrutinized the lady in front him and found himself slightly disappointed that she didn't care to share her life story. He would never admit his curiosity. It would mean she was worth learning about.

"Ms. Amano's bravery attracted much attention from the public, and if I may add," Hamada continued off of Kisara's explanation, "when photos of her were published into the media, there was quite a demand in identifying who she was. Not only was she courageous, but her beauty also attracted many curious figures."

" _Reo_ -er, I mean, Mr. Hamada," Kisara's cheeks flushed redder than they ever did as her tongue slipped on Hamada's name. Kaiba noticed this especially, and his heart beat at a faster pace. She addressed Hamada by his first name. Why? Had she grown closer to him? For some unknown reason, he felt his hands start to sweat as Kisara continued, "Please, my appearance wasn't a factor."

"But it was, Ms. Amano," Hamada gave Kisara a warm smile as his eyes focused entirely on her, "You are beautiful, and it's an advantage. In fact, a lot of people connected you to the Maiden with Eyes of Blue card since you were discovered in KaibaLand. The idea of hiring a new host was already in the works, but I reached out to you because I believed that your image, not only your act, would fit perfectly as a host. Gorgeous blue eyes and pale hair such as yours harmonize with Mr. Kaiba's favorite monster. Don't you agree Mr. Kaiba? Would her looks not fit in with your company's image?"

Kaiba let out a huge sigh as his right hand went up to his forehead to massage his temples. He couldn't help his huge headache as he tried composing his thoughts. He chose to ignore Hamada's question and instead stared directly at Kisara despite addressing Hamada. There was somewhat of a valid reason to accept her as host. Employment could be a fitting thanks for her prevention of what could have been an utter disaster for his park's reputation.

"I will consult with Mokuba concerning his job. If it is absolutely true that he cannot handle both positions, I will consider hiring someone as host with Ms. Amano in mind. Although she has attracted some attention, I want to ensure that she will remain popular enough in the public's eye by the time Battle City rolls around. Perhaps, if Mokuba's decision aligns with your plans, Hamada, you could find some way to promote her underneath the company's name before officially declaring her as host. Call it a test if you may. Is my conclusion satisfactory to your ambition?"

Hamada graciously replied, "That is wonderful to hear. Thank you for your consideration, Mr. Kaiba."

"Your food is here," the same server came back to the three's table and elegantly placed each platter on the table.

The three dined and ended up conversing about food for the rest of Kaiba's lunch break. Kisara made sure to give regards to Kaiba's choice of food.

* * *

Kaiba had left the restaurant sooner than Reo and Kisara.

The remaining two approached the front desk of the restaurant, in which Reo inquired, "May I ask for the bill for our two meals? I don't think we received the bill at the table."

The lady at the desk glanced up and answered, "Your table's bill has been paid for by Seto Kaiba."

"Are you sure? That can't be right," Reo nervously chuckled, "He never pays for others."

"I'm quite sure, sir."

"Ah...alright, have a good day," Reo waved his farewell as Kisara trailed behind him outside.

What was once a clear sky had transformed grey and dreary. Pelts of rain were falling rapidly and the individual sounds of each drop conglomerated into a booming effect upon the restaurant awning that protected Reo and Kisara.

"I'm quite disappointed that I couldn't pay for you, Kisara," a bemused Reo turned towards Kisara as he continued, "I suppose Seto Kaiba is dating the both of us since he paid our bills."

Kisara laughed at Reo's observation of Kaiba's choice before replying, "No worries, Reo. It just means you owe me another date." She winked at him playfully before asking, "Is it true that he never does this? Why is it so that he chose to pay for the both of us today?"

"Maybe he felt bad about putting you down the other day and wanted to pay for your bill. Since the great Seto Kaiba wouldn't dare to appear apologetic towards a person, he decided to pay for me as well to cover his good heart. It's really just extra spare change compared to his bank account, so I suppose it wouldn't count as much. Have you got any theories?"

Kisara stretched out her arms and a huge smile drew on her face, "Nope! I guess the world will never know the motives behind Seto Kaiba's acts of kindness!"

As soon as she had finished her last sentence, she felt Reo's arms wrap around her waist. His warmth radiated through her body as she felt her heart accelerate. Her arms settled around his neck as his lips met hers. It was a tender kiss that gave hints of passion from either party, yet its duration was stopped short as Reo was the first to pull back.

"Let's continue this after I get off of work today," he suggested.

"You read my mind," Kisara grinned and looked out into the rest of the world, "I'm guessing neither of us read the forecast today?"

"Nope, but we can easily make a run to my car," Reo remarked. He pulled off his suit jacket and draped it around Kisara's shoulders. Kisara accepted his suit jacket and pulled the article over her head as the two speedily rushed out.

* * *

Kaiba relieved a sigh as his head relaxed against the seat of his car. He needed a moment of silence to recollect his thoughts. He replayed the entire conversation at the restaurant in his head and landed on the moment Hamada mentioned Kisara's resemblance to the Maiden with Eyes of Blue card. His stomach twisted into knots as he recalled the origin of the card.

A year following the Pharaoh's return to the afterlife, Pegasus had chucked an opportunity at Kaiba to create his own card. Call it a birthday gift of sorts. At the time, he only wanted to something that could only strengthen his blue eyes white dragon-centered deck. He had based the card's negating ability from the story of the priest and his dragon, on how the girl who embodied the spirit of the dragon had protected the priest. He remembered initially wanting to name the card "Kisara" but felt that it was too personal in a sense. Never did he imagine that he would meet the replica, yet he didn't want to acknowledge her resemblance.

 _Fuck. Seto, get a grip on yourself._

In an attempt to rid his thoughts of her, he started his car and pulled out the parking lot. The way to KaibaCorp required him to pass by the front of the restaurant. He had to stop close to the front as a red light appeared. As he glanced out the window, he felt his heart immediately sink to the pits of his stomach as soon as he registered what had transpired.

There she stood, embraced, arms returning the favor around another man's neck and lips touching base with that man's lips. Kaiba's body grew numb as his eyes froze on the couple, hands gripping the steering wheel with a force greater than he had ever applied. He watched the other man shroud her in his suit jacket and assist her with one arm as they both fled, and he felt his head and heart crash into mayhem.

All sound was deafening as the storm's thunder clashed with his own mental tempest. It took an embarrassingly long time for him to notice the blaring honks of the vehicles behind his as the stop light turned green. He closed his eyes, took in deep breaths, and went on his way back to work.

 _I don't care. I don't care. I don't care._

"I don't care," he mumbled underneath his breath once he pulled into the front of KaibaCorp. He got out his car and tossed his keys to a valet, along with his last ounce of care.

Or so he most longingly hoped.


	5. Chapter 4: New Name

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the motivation to continue writing this fanfiction! This chapter is on the shorter side, which is why it's faster than my usual snail pace :,)

* * *

"Mokuba, do you ever _not_ want to care about something but part of you still does? Not because you care about it specifically, but more like you have to care because it somehow deals with you?"

The same Monday of his lunch meeting with Kisara and Hamada, Kaiba had just returned from work. He laid himself across the couch and glued his eyes on his apartment's spotless white ceiling. It had been a terrible day of work. He guessed his productivity went down by 5% because a certain girl kept gnawing at his brain cells.

Mokuba was situated in one of the single couch chairs with a tablet in hand. He worriedly stared at his brother, puzzled by his odd question.

"Um, I guess I can relate in that I really don't want to care for this philosophy class I'm taking, but I have an obligation to care because it's a part of my GPA and curriculum?" Mokuba tried his best to answer his brother's rather confusing question.

Kaiba chuckled at Mokuba's simplistic response.

"You're not entirely false. Think of my predicament in this sense; Let's say I feel as if I'm genuinely starting to take intrigue in this philosophy class. Despite the foundational uselessness of it, I find myself somewhat enjoying certain aspects of the subject, from the pages of Plato's Republic to Kant's Metaphysics of Morals-"

"Seto, you're rambling and making zero sense," Mokuba spat out before he could allow Kaiba to continue.

"What I'm trying to say is," Kaiba propped himself up on the couch, "Are you overwhelmed by holding two jobs as commissioner and host for the upcoming Battle City tournament?"

Mokuba turned his tablet off and completely faced Kaiba's direction, full attention on his brother. His eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"You literally jumped between two completely unrelated topics. I am genuinely concerned about you. Before I answer your second question, what is _up_ with your first question, and what the hell was your attempt at explaining it?"

Kaiba relieved a huge sigh. Although his mind was enraptured by thoughts of that woman, he had no wish in making her apparent. It felt like if he voiced her name or described her as she was, he would have to deal full-frontal with her influence.

"Nevermind about my first question, or whatever I was rambling about. It's unimportant."

Mokuba gaped at his brother's weirdly unorganized behavior. He wanted to press on so badly, but he also noticed how defeated he appeared. When Kaiba had returned from work, he was a tad bit more grim than usual. Mokuba feared that if he pressed on, it would only irritate and stress him out. He decided to look past.

"Hmm...ok. Well, it would be a relief if you could find someone appropriate. I'm assuming that I'll still be commissioner? You wouldn't trust anybody else."

"Yes."

"To be honest, I think the public has gotten tired of seeing my face for like the past decade. Not to _brag_ or anything, but I think a good chunk of the population enjoyed watching me grow up into the handsome mug I am today," Mokuba smugly smiled and crossed his arms, appearing proud of his retirement as host. The moment he blinked, he felt a pillow slam into his face.

Kaiba smirked as Mokuba's dumbfounded face emerged as the pillow sunk into his lap.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, kid," Kaiba mocked, "No one thinks that way."

Mokuba tossed the pillow back at Kaiba and argued, "I beg to differ. I remember when I hit 18 and then all the articles were like "HE'S LEGAL FOLKS." Hell, there were more articles on my dashing looks than the actual duels!"

"You're exaggerating, Moki," Kaiba, amused, caught the pillow and set it to the side.

"Hardly," Mokuba insisted jokingly, "How could you ever find somebody as attractive and charismatic as me? The fate of the company rests on my face!"

"You already have competition," Kaiba retorted, "The PR team has already proposed someone. Just today actually."

"Really? Who? I've gotta see my successor!"

"I can't divulge her identity, and she's not exactly well renowned. Maybe you'll see her through some promotions the PR team will plan for her to create some exposure in the near future."

"Seto, don't you think I, of all people, should be the first to know of her existence? Don't you think, I, above anybody in this company, should be the one to approve of her since she's taking my position?"

Kaiba snorted as he asked, "I think you're forgetting who handles all the ropes here."

"Please? Give me her name so I can stalk her on the interwebs!" Mokuba dramatically whipped out his tablet and pointed excitedly to it.

"And what are you basing your approval on? Her looks? You can't exactly decipher a personality from someone's social media life."

"C'mon, Seto, I'm so curious!"

"She's really nothing special," Kaiba flatly responded,"But if you insist on knowing…it's Kisara Amano."

As soon as Kaiba blurted out her name, Mokuba started furiously entering her name into the Google search bar.

"So...the only social media account I found with that name is on Facebook. Crap, I hope there's not many Kisara Amanos near here...and there's only one!"

Kaiba leaned back into the couch, feeling his curiosities get the better of him. He squinted as he saw Mokuba keep tapping and scrolling on his tablet. What was only a couple of seconds felt like an eternity as curiosity devoured his rationale.

"Let me check if you've got the right one," Kaiba announced as he got up and sidled over behind Mokuba, peering at the tablet.

It was her. She didn't have many photos on public, but it was clearly her. Her cover photo was of her and two younger kids. One of the them was a lanky teenage girl with a short black bob and dark grey eyes. She had on a pair of oversized, round glasses. The other kid was a young boy with unruly blond hair and eyes similar to the teenager's. Kisara had each arm wrapped around each kid and displayed one of those smiles that forced her eyes to disappear. They were all dressed in warm clothes with the a spectacular view of some mountains and cherry blossom trees in the background. It was a cheerful picture.

"Hmm, a family girl," Mokuba mused as he viewed the cover photo. He clicked on her profile picture and enlarged it into full view. It was a professional headshot of her softly smiling into the camera. Her alabaster hair was free-flowing but neatly tucked behind her ears, and the puffs of her eyes were visibly smiling. She had on what appeared to be a simple beige tank top.

"Wow, she's definitely one of the most beautiful girls I've seen. I don't think you'll have any trouble attracting interest in her. She's the innocent type," Mokuba noted, "Let's snoop through her newsfeed."

"Mokuba, I'm not sure it's best to stalk your future coworker."

"Psh!"

Mokuba exited out of Kisara's profile picture and started scrolling through her newsfeed. There wasn't much showed to the public, but he did manage to find a tagged picture of Kisara.

"Holy…" Mokuba whistled as he enlarged the picture. The photo had Duke Devlin with one hand wrapped around Kisara's shoulder. They were both dressed pretty well, with Duke in a crimson red suit and Kisara in a simple black dress, the same one she wore during lunch. Kaiba didn't have much chance to observe her body at the time, as she was mostly sitting down, but in the photo, the dress perfectly hugged her curves, giving away the slightest of her cleav-

"Ahem, Mokuba, don't be creepy," Kaiba spoke up in order to stop his thoughts short. In reality, his brain went into haywire trying to connect her to Duke Devlin. Why did she appear so close to him?

Mokuba ignored his brother as he continued snooping. Kaiba had decided to back off and face the other direction, leaning his body against the armrest.

"Damn...I hope people won't forget about me when she's host," Mokuba concluded as he turned off his tablet and shot a goofy smile at Kaiba.

"Tch," Kaiba clicked his tongue as he started heading to his bedroom, "It's still a big if."

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"I don't feel like it."

"Seto…" Mokuba quietly asked, "Why not?"

Kaiba abruptly stopped. He suddenly recalled his promise to take care of himself, to free Mokuba of health concerns. Yet tonight, he just wanted to sleep. It wasn't because he was particularly full physically, just full of the events that had happened. He turned around and responded, "I had a really rough day today, Mokuba. It was an exception, trust me. Good night."

As Mokuba watched his brother head to his bedroom, having no choice but to let him go and feel his own anxiety grow.

* * *

A week had passed, and so did most thoughts of her. Kaiba's mind had replaced those thoughts with more immediate emergencies, all of which pertained to his job. Once in a while, however, during the most silent and restful of moments, a part of her, perhaps her hair or eyes or lips, usurped his mind. It was as if the labyrinth of a library his mind forged was being repeatedly destroyed by a recurring tornado.

That same tornado came one morning when he stepped out on his penthouse's rooftop area during the wee hours of the ungodly morning. Occasionally, before work, he would step outside for a bit and just review the news on his phone for a couple minutes while enjoying the glamorous view of Domino City. Before even unlocking his phone, his eyes caught sight of a peculiar motion in the distance.

Located on one of the tallest buildings in the city, taller than his apartment building's, was an advertisement for one of KaibaCorp's latest headphones. It was a minor release compared to KaibaCorp's gaming technology but was nonetheless state-of-the-art, lightweight with an unparalleled sound system along with noise-cancellation. But it wasn't the product that caught his attention. It was the girl wearing the headphones. Once again, she had popped into his life uninvited, this time appearing on the huge advertisement only a short distance away from his home.

 _So that's where the marketing team decided to test her._

She looked nice. He supposed.

Kaiba stared for a good minute. His head was engulfed by mixed emotions. Of all the places they could stick her face on, it just happened to be viewable from his apartment. He sighed and broke his stare, feeling a slight fear emerge from the pits of his guts - a fear derived from self-concern. It was unhealthy to think so much, especially about things that shouldn't matter. Before he slipped inside, he momentarily paused and looked back, squinting at the advertisement for a second before returning to his duties.

* * *

Thursday of that week, he had amassed a migraine by the time he got to his last appointment of the day.

"Sir, Yugi Muto is here to see you," Lily Wong's voice announced from the intercom.

"Bring him in," Kaiba directed.

There wasn't much to say about Yugi Muto. He had grown to resemble Atem. No longer was he the pipsqueak that Kaiba remembered vividly - and mocked. He was still an active duelist, still reigning King of Games, much to Kaiba's dismay, but he was also Kaiba's employee at this point. He had pitched an idea for a game that Kaiba saw to be potentially profitable, and KaibaCorp would be funding its development. That evening, the two discussed Yugi's game in further details and the schedule that would have to be followed. Around the end of their hour long conversation, Yugi brought up a suggestion most unusual.

"Kaiba, would you like to eat _dinner_ with me?"

"What the _hell_ are you up to, Yugi?" Kaiba snapped his laptop shut at the other man's absurdity. Although the two were barely rivals at this point, they weren't exactly the most amicable of companions.

"I don't think we've ever really had a chance to talk to each other casually after all these years, even during those years with Atem, where we saw each other most. Since we've known each other so long and now we're doing business together, let's talk," Yugi calmly reasoned his purpose as he leaned on one arm against the chair situated across Kaiba's work desk, chin on his hand.

Kaiba stayed quiet for a couple of seconds. Despite the countless occasions he experienced Yugi's friendly demeanor and rather pure intentions, he couldn't entirely believe the duelist wanted to have dinner without an ulterior motive.

"I don't do the bonding thing with my employees. I don't even bother with businessmen of equal standing. What differentiates you?"

Yugi lifted his chin from his hand and leaned back, slightly frustrated at Kaiba's persistent stubbornness. His amethyst eyes flicked to the side and replied, "Because I happen to have been to Ancient Egypt as well."

Kaiba followed Yugi's line of sight. He realized that Yugi's eyes landed on the blue eyes white dragon figurine on his desk. Kaiba's eyes widened and glowered at Yugi, realizing his intentions.

"Look," he growled, "I'm really not in the mood for one of your destiny lectures. Whatever you have to say about...about _her_ , I have no interest in responding."

"You recognize her... _and_ her resemblance, don't you? Seto Kaiba doesn't stutter unless he thinks twice of something. And why would you think twice of something if it didn't matter?"

"Your assumptions are far-fetched."

"Your articulations are normally seamless. You just glitched."

"What do you want me to say? Do you want me to lie by admitting that I'm _fated_ to be with this woman? Look at how different I am, how different my life is compared to that priest. Instead of worshipping the ground you stand on, _you're_ the one being employed by me," Kaiba was on the verge of bursting in annoyance.

"I'm not saying you have to be romantically involved with her like how Priest Set and past Kisara were. Doesn't a part of you, a smidgen of your brain, speculate some potential importance she may have in your life? You build your image, your buildings, your theme parks based off a card monster that was once so real and the very soul of that woman. You even acknowledge your past incarnate and accept what happened a millennia ago."

Kaiba buried his head in his hands before peaking at Yugi's determined eyes. His tone became a bit more mute, "I don't deny what history has written. I don't deny that I may be a reincarnate of the Priest. Hell, I can't even deny her existence. I will, however, deny a need for the present to revolve around the past. I am in control of this life, therefore I will choose who I want to communicate with."

"As if you had that initiative to communicate with anyone outside of your business," Yugi bitterly remarked as he rolled his eyes at Kaiba's conclusion.

"Just why the hell do you care so much?"

" _We all cared_ ," Yugi muttered underneath his breath so quietly that Kaiba couldn't one hundred percent process his words.

"What was that?"

"We should get going," Yugi lied as his mouth formed into a tight-lipped smile, "I'm sure the both of us would like to go home."

"Something I can actually agree on."

The two left Kaiba's office at the same time, silently accompanying each other in the elevator. While Yugi remained looking awkwardly off into space, Kaiba had decided to whip out his phone to mindlessly read the current news. One article, one which happened to belong to one of those celebrity news outlets, had a photo of Kisara's face on it. Normally, Kaiba avoided those news outlets like the plague, but he found his curiosity overpowering his logic as his finger easily tapped the article. It was titled "NEW NAME, NEW FAME" and featured several photos of Kisara advertising his company's new headphone line. The article commended her face and figure, basically gushing at the company's choice of model. Several comments underneath the article were comprised of citizens' appraisal. Several related articles had talks of modeling companies prospectively seeking her out. The elevator dinged as it stopped on a floor, breaking Kaiba's trance of moving onto another draining article about her.

The elevator doors opened and another person entered. Kaiba was too busy looking down at his phone to notice or care.

"Mr. Kaiba! Good evening. How has your day been?"

Kaiba could identify that voice from a room full of chatter, as that voice belonged to a character that he absolutely loathed at the moment.

"Adequate," he sharply answered, refusing to give Reo Hamada his full attention as he continued scrolling through his phone.

"Ah," Hamada nervously uttered as he scratched his head, "Have you noticed the rise in Ms. Amano's popularity? The Japanese media outlets have burst with articles of her. We've gotten several offers and requests from big modeling agencies to have her work for them as well. Aren't we lucky to have acquired such a beautiful woman under our company? I haven't even released the articles of what she did in Kaibaland Osaka."

The elevator had reached the lobby before Kaiba finalized his response.

"I wasn't aware," he lied through his teeth, "Keep up the work if you want to keep your job." He motioned to Yugi, "Yugi, come out with me, we need to talk."

Kaiba brusquely walked away from the elevator, avoiding anymore conversation with that infuriating Hamada. As soon as he stepped out into KaibaCorp's periphery, Yugi inquired, "Do you really have something to talk about?"

"No. I just wanted to excuse myself from conversing with that man," Kaiba quickly and flatly answered.

"I don't think you'd have much problem telling someone to shut up or go away," Yugi mused and entertained himself with the many insults Kaiba had abrasively spat at him and his friends, "That man must have something over you if you respect him enough to walk away without insult."

"You're mocking me, Yugi," Kaiba snarled, "You're analyzing my actions too deeply."

"It's not that I analyze them deeply, it's that any irregularities in your cynical disposition happen to pop out easily."

"I'm going home."

"Good night, Kaiba."

Kaiba grunted in response as he walked toward his car. On the way to his apartment, he tried his best to ignore the brightly lit advertisements clumped and scattered across Domino.

* * *

Moonlight glistened on milky white bed sheets, accentuating the outlines of two figures. In the dark room, a phone's screen suddenly emitted light and a shrill ring. Kisara emerged from underneath the sheets, letting out a soft moan at the disturbance. Her thin fingers laced around her phone as she partially sat up on her side. She answered the call.

 _Congratulations on winning an all-expense weekend stay at the Mulia in Bali, Indonesia! Courtesy of KaibaCorp! Further details will be sent through email. Enjoy!_

"Something wrong?" A groggy, flaxen-haired man rose and embraced Kisara from her back. He dipped his head onto her shoulder, brushing his lips against the soft, ivory skin of her neck.

"Quite the opposite! Looks like I won the raffle for the weekend vacation sponsored by KaibaCorp," the white-haired woman giggled, "I'm really reaping the benefits of being a KaibaCorp employee, hmm?" She bit her lip, holding back a whimper as she felt her partner's lip grace her sensitive parts. She didn't want to make herself seem too easy.

"This weekend, right? Isn't it rather last minute?"

"The raffle was announced last minute for reasons unexplained. Honestly, I'm not complaining!" Kisara was about to laugh again at her fortune until she felt an abrupt bite and pressure on her neck, causing her to displace all defiance and let out a yelp. She dropped her phone as her partner imposed his body on top of hers.

"Reo!"

His face softened as he gazed at the young vixen underneath his hold. His face leaned down ever so close, feeling her gentle breaths against his face.

"If you're leaving," Reo's lips formed into a suggestive, tight-lipped smile as his hands started to explore Kisara underneath the sheets, "Then I suppose we'll make up for the weekend tonight."

Her response was made in the form of an eager kiss, pulling the man who held her heart deeper into the sheets, deeper into the dead of the night.

* * *

 **More notes:** The next chapter will be part of a two-parter :) I promise that I will flesh out Kisara's character more in the next couple of chapters! Thank you for reading!

Also, I'm not quite sure if this was made clear, but I do not want to portray Kaiba as this dude who's completely denying whatever happened in Ancient Egypt or the possibility of reincarnation. Instead, I want him to deny the _influence_ of his past self and have little regard if anything related to Egypt was either true or false. Ultimately, it shouldn't matter to him in the first place, therefore the truth of the matter is irrelevant.


	6. Chapter 5: Trouble in Paradise Part I

**Author's Note:** I have changed the summary for this story as of this chapter. I didn't like the original summary because I'm just terrible with coming up with generalizations. I'm not entirely satisfied with the one I just imposed as well. I feel as if this story is too slice of life to be specifically condensed.

* * *

Kisara observed the fantastical view outside of KaibaCorp's first-class helicopter as she held a glass of champagne in her hand. Her tongue continually felt unnatural as it lapped against the thousand-dollar liquid. She had immediately felt overwhelmed when the flight attendant informed her of the costs of the champagne. A part of her body wanted to discard such an unnecessarily expensive beverage, perhaps because she felt so alienated in the lush world of her newfound career.

It all felt so surreal, nearly uncomfortable, but not a sense of discomfort bold enough to scare her away to have her likeness displayed across all of Japan. She swirled her champagne flute, staring intently at the bubbles. She never intended to land an opportunity as a model, much less a successful one, but if it meant escaping her strenuous hours at Duke's cafe and earning a better paycheck for her family, then she absolutely had the initiative to perform her job skillfully.

 _Miss Amano, please prepare your seatbelt for landing._

Wide-eyed at how personal the pilot addressed her through the intercom, she followed his orders. The fact that she was the only passenger, aside from the pilot and one flight attendant, still astounded her. The luxurious interior decorated in whites, creams, and golds screamed money, screamed at her for being a stranger. She transfixed her eyes outside the window, towards the sinking horizon. The pressure coupled with the plane's descension excited her. It felt like centuries since she had the opportunity to vacation. However, a part of her desperately wished she had company.

 _One day, I'll earn enough to have these vacations with my family. One day…_ Her head trailed with warm thoughts of bringing her siblings and father. If only she could extend her free ticket to them.

The plane smoothly landed. Once Kisara stepped out, she gasped at the sheer beauty of the island that Indonesia had to offer. Lush, verdant nature and an air of openness beckoned its visitors to simply smile, and that was exactly what Kisara did. Her eyes got smaller as her grin grew, and her heart grew light at the prospect of her weekend getaway. Oh how blessed she was to be granted this vacation after years of nonstop dead-end jobs and sleepless nights. The workaholic in her could be temporarily be put to rest.

"...And this will be your villa for the weekend. Make sure to always hold your key in order to unlock the gates. There will be a 24-hour butler on call to meet your every need. I hope you enjoy your stay at the Mulia."

Kisara could barely hear the words of her leaving guide as her mind and body were enraptured by the pure luxuries the hotel had to offer her. She wasn't just granted a room but a _villa_. She took deep breaths of the fresh, tropical air and closed her eyes, believing it to be all a dream. The atmosphere was a simple yet astounding display of saturated colors. The greens of the leaves, the ceruleans of the sky, the jades of the ocean, the diversity of flowers were all so foreign to her. She couldn't remember ever touching sand beneath her feet.

She made way toward the entrance of her villa, growing excited at each step. An audible gasp escaped her throat as soon as one foot traipsed inside the impressive interior of the living room. It was decorated in soft beiges and pea greens, accented by the strong woods of the furniture. Two sofas surrounded a coffee table and vertically paralleled a giant flat screen TV. The living room was attached to a kitchen that seemed to have the most current versions of kitchenware. She walked through the spacious living area, still in awe, and eventually crashed into the comfortable fluffiness of one of the couches. She gleefully smiled and reached for her phone to immediately update her family. As soon as her hand touched her phone, she felt loneliness loom over her high spirits. As wonderfully big the villa was, she couldn't help but feel like it was nothing if she was the only occupant. A lump in her throat started to form at the thought of her family, and how much she wished she could spend time with them here. She pressed her dad's contact number and started dialing. The monotonous ringing was the only sound in the vacancies of the quiet paradise...at least, for a couple of seconds.

After about two iterations of the dial tone, Kisara faintly heard a cracking of a door in the distance. Her head and body immediately made a 180 degree shift towards the entrance of an unassuming figure.

Fog faintly breathed out the room the person was coming from, making his identity a bit blurry. Both hands held a white towel that was vigorously scrubbing his head, further concealing his face. He kept walking toward the couch Kisara was situated on, and as the distance shortened between them shortened, the fog lifted. The figure stopped and pulled the towel back up against his head, clearly showing his face.

Royal blue eyes were revealed along with his rather grim yet personable facial features. Peaks of his hazelnut brown hair poked out the towel. Kisara's eyes extended into saucers and her mouth dropped as her mind finally confirmed who the hell the man in front of her was. Her eyes traveled downwards, taking note of his faintly moist, polished skin. That very skin had shades that defined an impressive six-pack, but her eyes didn't stop indulging there. They kept heading south, to a feature that she never in a millennia would dream of seeing. As soon as her eyes landed there, the towel was slapped right into her face.

"AMANO, WHAT THE FUCK?!" An enraged howl bellowed from the deliriously embarrassed Seto Kaiba as he instantly retreated to the privacies of the bathroom.

"Kisara? Are you okay? Who was that? IS SOMEONE TRYING TO YELL AT MY BABY?!" Her father's voice frantically shouted out through the phone."

"I'll call you back later, dad…" her voice faintly replied as she hung up. She was in for a long string of missed calls. The heat of her face tripled in temperature as the towel clung to her face at each passing second. She could smell rosehip and orange whiffs coming off from the towel, slowly pulling it away from her face. A good part of her was horrified at the thought of where he wiped this particular towel on. Her eyes shot up as Kaiba once again emerged from the restroom, towel wrapped around his waist. His wet hair was slicked back, giving more clearance to the scarlet that overwhelmed his face. At this point, both faces were in a competition of most embarrassed.

"Why the hell did you keep looking down…" Kaiba's voice was a dead calm, a tranquility that was veiled with vexation.

"It was just...natural," Kisara meekly responded, unable to answer any better. If anything, she suspected no answer could satisfy the current situation.

"So if you were the one naked, it'd be _natural_ for me to oggle at your body for ten straight seconds?"

"N-no!" she felt herself ready to stutter over her words. She suddenly couldn't form her words into plausible sentences. Kaiba started getting closer to the couch, and with each passing step, her mind was further discombobulated. He bent down to her face, inching ever so closely until his nose was only two inches from her's.

"Going by your explanation…" his hot, minty breath warmed her already scorching face a couple degrees higher, "It would also be _natural_ that you strip right now and offer me a good show. I'm feeling a little... _unsatisfied_ by my end of the deal."

Kisara was ultimately at a lost of words, simultaneously embarrassed and disgusted by his suggestion. The combination of orange and rosehip from his close proximity began to suffocate her lungs. The bewilderment that arose in her soft blue eyes amused Kaiba. A good minute passed before Kaiba confidently stood up.

"Tch," he clicked his tongue and continued looking down on her, "I'm not serious, but that's what you get for looking at my goods."

Kisara retorted, "There wasn't much to glance at."

Kaiba smirked and took the towel held languidly by Kisara and started walking to one of the villa's bedrooms while replying back, "Other women beg to differ. After I get dressed, we're going to figure out what the hell is happening."

At the shutting of his door, Kisara threw herself across the couch, burying her head into the comforts of the pillow. Her screams were muffled and her frustrations silenced. As much as she desperately wished that she shared her vacation with someone else, she had hoped it be anybody other than the obnoxious and nauseating CEO, but she had to take what she got.

Kaiba scoffed as he shut the door behind him. He rushed to get a fresh pair of clothes from his unpacked suitcase, a flurry of thoughts racing in his head as he carried on. In actuality, he was duly mortified that he had been caught off-guard in such an exposed state, and he had the urge to lash out at the white-haired woman. He had a feeling yelling at Kisara would only cause a screamfest, as he already experienced first-hand her argumentative nature, and he had no intention to spend his vacation yelling. After dressing himself in a casual white t-shirt and khaki shorts, he burst into the living room. He found the woman perched upon one of the kitchen island stools, chatting on the phone with who he assumed to be her father.

Her eyes flickered up in notice of Kaiba's presence. She hurriedly spoke, "I have to clear some matters right now, I promise I'll call you tonight." She turned off her phone and turned to the CEO, who decided to take a seat on a stool two seats from her. She silently chuckled to herself at the way he kept his distance.

"This villa has been reserved underneath the Kaiba name every year. I don't understand how you got your hands on it," Kaiba coolly said as he faced Kisara's direction.

She cocked her head to the side and furrowed her eyebrows as she replied, "Weren't you the one who released the raffle?"

" _What_ raffle?"

Kisara turned her phone on and found the email detailing the vacation and slid her phone across to Kaiba. He caught the device and peered at the screen. The email it came from was a verified corporate address, but he couldn't for the life of him remember issuing the notice. The only other person who had access to the villa was none other than Mokuba.

 _Mokuba._

Kaiba's eyes dimmed in betrayal. His little brother had insisted he couldn't come this year because there was a pertinent party of his friend's to attend over the weekend. Mokuba must have given his rights to the room through the raffle. But why? It made zero sense that he wouldn't tell Kaiba. If anything, it was a violation of Kaiba's privacy and the other person's.

"I have an idea of what's going on," Kaiba bitterly remarked as he started calling Mokuba's number. Kisara slid off her chair and approached Kaiba's. She could feel the man's eyes following her movement, probably questioning why she had decided to be so close to him. She situated herself on the stool right next to his and retrieved her phone, pulling back a strand of her hair behind her ear. She had every intention to make him uncomfortable like the way he made her feel. Frankly she _did_ see the guy naked, but it was accidental and had no ill intention.

Kaiba noticed her jaw-line, the way it was delicate but had the daintiest of an edge as she pulled back her hair behind her ear. He also noticed what appeared to be a decent sized pearl on her ear and wondered if her boyfriend had bought it for her or if a jewelry company had decided to sponsor her. A part of him wanted to believe the latter. No way in hell did he pay the PR department a luxurious salary.

"Yesssss?" Mokuba's voice erupted from the phone, set with a mischievous tone.

"Mokuba, did you give out access to our Mulia villa through a raffle?" Kaiba calmly asked. He didn't have the heart to yell at his own blood.

"Yuh-huh, is she hot?"

" _Antarctica_ ," Kaiba passively responded as he shot daggers at the woman seated right next to him.

Kisara snorted as she overheard Mokuba's question and Kaiba's answer. She took no offense and gave a wink and one of her sugar-coated smiles as she placed her head on her hand. He rolled his eyes and averted his gaze despite feeling his stomach stir in reaction to her unnervingly endearing act.

"Impossible, some office guys and I made sure that all the single women we forwarded that email to were at least a 9 out of 10! We even made a scoreboard!"

"Well she's neither attractive or taken, so your plan has been foiled."

" _Kisara Amano_ isn't single? Who is she with?"

Kaiba felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned to find Kisara's face turn pale and her index finger was raised to her mouth.

"Nevermind her boyfriend's identity, but Mokuba, please don't mention who she is to your office friends, or if they already know, don't say she's taken."

"I understand, Seto," Mokuba audibly voiced his remorse, "Sorry. I just wanted you to give you a chance...you know. I figured a woman during some time off would change your way of looking at a relationship."

"Thank you for your efforts, Mokuba, but you have to let these things run naturally."

"If I let things run naturally, you'll be in your coffin at this point," Mokuba chortled amusingly.

"If you pray hard enough for me, maybe I'll find love with a fish here. Plenty of fish out there in the sea," Kaiba sarcastically replied, recognizing a laughing Kisara in his peripheral view.

"Haha, good one. Well, have a good vacation, Seto, and I hope your roommate does too. Say sorry to her for me!"

"Of course. Good-bye, Mokuba," Kaiba hung up and turned to face a smiling Kisara. He narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Just what are you so smiley about?"

She laughed before replying, "It's cute how much you love your brother. I've only heard you talk down to others, but with him you hold back."

"And that entertains you why? Yes, I take care of my brother and treat him well, is that not what a responsible older brother does?" He refused to take in her compliment and preferred to slap it back in her face.

She only shook her head as she changed the subject, "How do you know that I'm in a relationship? I've been trying to keep it on the low."

"If you call making out with Hamada in front of a restaurant as "on the low," then I must be Sherlock," Kaiba brazenly asserted.

"Oh…" Kisara blinked and held her hands to her cheeks as she felt them heat up, "I see. Reo and I have agreed to keep our relationship silent on both ends for the sake of both of our careers. I appreciate that you held back with your brother, really."

"It's no problem."

"So!" Kisara clapped her hands in one loud smack, causing Kaiba to shiver a little at the unexpected impact. She asked, "What shall we do now that we're stuck together?"

Kaiba smugly smiled as he rose up from his chair, " _We_ aren't doing anything. We can share the same living space, but we will _not_ be sharing vacations. You have your own bedroom. Unpack, go swim, buy yourself some tacky souvenirs, do whatever. Don't mind me, and I won't mind you."

Kisara watched her roommate fade away into his bedroom, feeling a bit disappointed that her only companion on this vacation, the only chance of her feeling less lonely, was a little bit of an asshole. Her eyes landed on her travel suitcases.

 _Well...I can start exploring my bedroom._

* * *

Kaiba threw on his aviators with one hand and used his other to lace around the cold glass of his beer bottle. He had just gotten back from lunch and decided to treat himself to some booze and a relaxed time at the beach. He leaned back comfortably in his wooden beach chair, basking in the sun and killing time. He occasionally had these little retreats for himself and Mokuba throughout the year, but they never lasted more than a weekend. To say he looked forward to them was an understatement. When he was younger, he never imagined taking a vacation, but even the invincible Seto Kaiba had to acknowledge that he wasn't 100% machine. The coolness of the beer and the heat of the tropical weather made for a good ass moment. He spent about twenty minutes just sipping his beer and relaxing until he eventually got up and made his way towards a surf shop.

Pulling back his aviators, he squinted and pointed towards a plain blue surfboard to rent. With surfboard tucked underneath his left arm, he walked purposefully towards the ocean. It was nearly unimaginable that Kaiba possessed such a skill such as surfing, but being the rich man he was, he'd had more than one opportunity to learn how to surf throughout his many vacations. He was just about to dip a toe into the waters until someone shouted his name.

"KAIBA!"

 _Ah, fuck me_ , he thought. He could easily recognize whose voice it was at this point. Looking to his right, he tried his hardest to look annoyed. Maybe if he appeared mean enough, she'd just leave. Unfortunately, the ever so present Kisara Amano was still running towards him. She had on a white one piece, and the back of his mind was relieved she had decided to dress so modestly for the beach. Still, the bathing suit hugged her curves a little too well, accentuating her hourglass figure. Her hair was held back in a ponytail, looking a little slick, and her skin had that wet glaze to it, indicating she had recently swam. She looked like those girls in generic beach advertisements, running across the line of the shore.

"What do you want?" He snapped as soon as she stopped in front him, "Did you not listen to what I said this morning?"

"Wow, you're in great shape for a nerd," she ignored his question and purposefully scouted his torso, "I forgot to mention that at the villa. It's surprising you have time to work out."

"I'm sure your boyfriend would love to hear you drool over another man," Kaiba snidely pointed out. However, a tiny part of him was elated she had noticed his physique.

Kisara shook her head as she crossed her arms before replying, "Just because I find a dog cute, it doesn't mean I want to fuck it."

"Did you just call me...a dog?" Kaiba could only think of the times he put down Joey Wheeler as a mutt. To be referred to as a dog by Kisara, even a cute and toned one, was beneath him.

"I'm just using an analogy," Kisara laughed as she released her arms from her crossed position, "Please don't take any offense to that." Her gaze landed on the surfboard in Kaiba's arm, leading her to ask him, "Are you going to surf?"

"No, I'm going to go chuck this up a shark's ass - of course I'm going to surf, great observation," Kaiba's unparalleled sarcasm only made Kisara's smile bigger. Her positive reactions always crept underneath his skin.

"Wow, I'd love to surf. Looks so fun, but I've never learned."

Kaiba sighed as he noticed how long they had been chatting. All he wanted to do was shred some waves and eventually relax in the villa's sauna pool. He propped up his surfboard and pushed it onto Kisara, who looked surprised as she caught the board.

"It's easy. Paddle, balance, ride. Figure it out yourself and leave me alone," he promptly said and immediately turned back to grab himself yet another surfboard.

"Thank you!" was her waning response as he furthered.

Kaiba was enjoying himself on his surfboard, not only because the waves were decent, but because he was relishing the sight of Kisara clumsily falling off her surfboard and getting back on with unwavered and pitiful confidence. He could only give props to her persistent efforts. As much as he wanted to mock her in the open, he didn't want to give her an opportunity to converse with him, so he returned to his sport. The glide of the waves, the laps of water brushing against him, and the sun sizzling against his skin in combination helped lift his concerns. As every blue wave was conquered by his board, a large worry evaded his mind. The waves weren't abnormally large and he certainly wasn't a pro, but it was a fantastical getaway from the rest of the world. What felt like a blissful century came crashing when he retreated onto land, disdained by the feeling of the grits of sand piercing his feet. He set his board down and raised his hand above his eyes, scouring the sight of the ocean for a sign of her. She should have been able to at least stand up on her board. His eyes squinted as he felt his heart start racing from her absence. In the vast view of the ocean, he couldn't identify a woman with white hair. However, his gaze was able to settle upon what was her board.

 _There's no way in hell. That woman can't drown on me like this!_ Kaiba bolted straight into the ocean, panicking as he fought against the crashing waves and headed into the direction of the empty surfboard.

"AMANO! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" He cried out as one hand braced the surfboard and his other arm waded in the near area. The feelings of the crashing waves and the scorching sun were no longer pleasurable as the heat of his body rose in panic. He didn't know why he was so overwhelmed with anxiety at the prospect of losing this woman. In the deep crevices of his heart, in the etches of his back memory, he knew the reason.

" _KISARA!_ " As soon as he articulated her first name, his eyes widened in shock at his mishap. Maybe it was the hysteria that was knocking his senses, but he felt as if it was nearly instinctual to call her that at this time.

" _Seto?_ " A confused voice emerged from behind him, "Are we on a first name basis now?"

Kaiba whirled around to find the woman he was searching for, unscratched and perfectly fine. He scowled at his own wasted effort and shoved the surfing board towards her. She caught the board, still dazed by the happenstance. She watched him head back to shore, leaving her in the entrails of the ocean.

* * *

"Wait, Kaiba! Kaiba?!"

As much as she shouted after him, Kaiba couldn't face her. As soon as he got onto shore, he took his own surfboard and walked hurriedly back to the surf shop to return it. From there, he saw Kisara's figure rushing toward him. He scowled and made his way to the villa, speed walking away from her smothering presence. As soon as he stepped onto the villa's private pool, he felt a hand pull on his shoulder. He whacked the hand away and faced his follower.

"What?" his voice was exasperated, clearly emanating his nauseated response to her being, "What is it that you want from me?! I'm _sick_ of you following me around like a lost puppy. This is my time to be alone, and you're annoying the hell out of me!"

"Then why did you look for me?" her voice had the slightest of trembling. He knew that he had just scraped the surface, and he wasn't about to hold back.

"Because…" Kaiba's mind searched all over to find an excuse until it finally landed on one cynical enough to break her, "Because if you drowned on my name, then I'm in for an irritating whirlwind of police investigations and media outbreaks. Remember that you're here on Kaiba money, and the mere instance that you endanger yourself, you stain my name. You've been a huge nuisance since you've arrived, and your little model brain can't just _think_ for once. Don't be fucking stupid, Amano, and be grateful that I've tolerated you at this point."

Once again, he put her down more than he should have. She was just so...numbingly vexatious. He was overwhelmingly contemptible with the way he treated her. In truth, he was uselessly lashing out at her for his own frustrations. He was baffled as to why he started to care for the damn woman, and he didn't want to. He couldn't.

She couldn't look at him directly, not into the eyes of the man who was being overly harsh on her. It seemed like every time she tried to be civil and friendly, he pushed back with twice her force. His words hurt, but she couldn't just cry or something. Arguing with him would only fuel the fire, and she didn't want things to blow up. He wasn't worth the effort.

She completely ignored his gaze and softly complied, "I'm sorry for being an inconvenience...I'll leave you alone." And with that, she walked back towards the beach.

Kaiba simply went for the sauna pool that the villa conveniently had. He soaked himself in the piping hot waters, wishing that they could burn away the guilt that coursed through every part of his body. If only it were so simple. If only _she_ could be so simple.

* * *

She didn't return since. Kaiba had just gotten out of the shower, noticing that the time was around midnight. The only sounds that perched on his ears were the sounds of the waves against the night sands, but there was only one sound he had hoped to hear - the sound of the front door click. The rational, logical part of him begged him to just go to sleep, but he couldn't stop thinking about the way she easily gave in, or how there were traces of distress on her face. He took his laptop out of his room and sat on one of the couches. He decided to look through his email and eventually conduct business. Doing work made him kill time and forget who he was waiting for.

Kisara tried as best as she could to sneak inside. She didn't want to awake a sleeping dragon. After all, she had already poked him a little too much today. As soon as she took her shoes off and caught sight of a figure on the couch who seemed to be ominously illuminated by the blue light of his laptop screen, she yelped incomprehensible words, "Ohhjlgwakjlw," as she nearly tripped over her feet.

Kaiba suddenly noticed her in the corner, a bit spooked himself. He lowered his laptop screen and calmly asked her, "Where have you been?"

"Ah, just touristy stuff. I doubt I'll get any chance to come back to this place, so I made sure to try and squeeze multiple tours and events and stuff," Kisara nervously laughed as she approached the living space. "What about you? You must've done stuff to be up this late too."

She had a red flush on her face, a clear sign that she had consumed alcohol. It appeared that she was at least smart enough to control herself, as she was still conscious.

"Just work stuff," he mirrored her same passive response, to which she noticed. He could've responded better, but he was slightly peeved that she went off by herself drinking. How senseless.

"Well...I'm going to go shower and go to bed. It was nice seeing you one more time before I'm done for the for the night," she waved with the weakest smile he ever saw on her face, "Good night, Kaiba."

"Good night, Amano."

* * *

As soon as he heard her start up the shower, he returned back to his bedroom, relieved that she was finally back. He settled into his sheets and looked up at the blank ceiling. He had a feeling that he had an opportunity to reconcile with her, but he had virtually no energy to have some type of heart-to-heart with the woman. That and he didn't have the emotional capacity. He found himself unable to sleep for a while with recurring thoughts of her. It truly was a pain to have her right across from his room, giving him more excuses and more forgiveness when she manifested in his mind. Eventually his eyelids grew heavy and sleep overpowered his consciousness.

But sleep was only in control for approximately two hours until his eyes flickered open. His head throbbed in pain at his sudden awakening. Bright light emanated from the cracks of his bedroom door, indicating that someone was still awake. Worried, he tore his blanket off and made his way into the living room. There, he found the unconscious body of Kisara laid dormant on the couch. He walked over to find something still held in one of her hands. It was a card. He took the card and discovered it was "Monster Reborn."

 _How fitting_ , he thought.

He looked over to the coffee table to find a slew of duel monsters cards on the table, all organized in neat little piles according to type. Was she trying to create her own deck? He didn't realize she dueled. The cards she had were all pretty generic, nothing particularly powerful. However, her collection didn't seem to have any consistency to be a proper deck. Also on the table was a light blue notebook laid out in the open. He inspected the journal and realized she had been taking notes on each card. She had the actual care to handwrite color-coded notes regarding certain cards and the mechanics of the game instead of reading and studying it off online. As he scrolled through her notes, he even discovered a page full of Battle City rules.

It looked like she was practicing, training for her future role as Battle City's game host. She must not have had prior knowledge of duel monsters before, so she was trying her best to understand the game in order to fully be a competent facilitator, and she did so even on vacation so late at night. He admired that, admired her dedication to her future job. He took a good look at the sleeping woman, reveling in her features once again. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, as if nothing could wake her up. Although he would never confess, she was bewitching in any aspect. He set down the journal and crossed his arms. What he was about to do was completely uncharacteristic of him, but he owed her that. He laid his arms underneath her sleeping figure and carried her bridal style. She felt just about the same as he carried her the first time, light and unbothered. If anything, she felt a bit lighter. He carefully walked to her bedroom, making sure that her head or feet didn't hit the doorway.

Once he approached her bed, he gently laid her across, making sure that her head was perfectly in place on the pillow. With one arm still holding her shoulders, he freed his other and pulled the blanket over, overlapping her body up until her head.

Perhaps it was his sleep deprivation or guilt or a toxic combination of both that led him to delicately whisper, " _I'm sorry._ "

She clearly didn't hear his words, as she was still dead asleep, and he was essentially relieved that she didn't. Even though it was probably best that she heard him apologize, he wasn't ready to reveal such a weak aspect of himself to her. He gingerly retracted his one arm still underneath her and only then discovered that his arm fell asleep. He left her bedroom, turned off all the lights, and returned to bed, where he was greeted with one of the most tranquil slumbers of his life.

* * *

 **More notes:** Thanks for reading! This a first out of a two-parter of their time in paradise, and I'm having fun writing this out. I hope you have fun reading this and future chapters too :) Feedback and any mentions of typos are much appreciated, thank you!


	7. Chapter 6: Trouble in Paradise Part II

Broken beams of sunlight dispersed through the bedroom where Kisara slept for the night. All was calm, from the slight breeze of the ocean air to the small, steady breaths of her sleeping state. Yet, the tranquility of the bedroom's atmosphere was promptly interrupted by a jolt of Kisara's body. Her eyes fluttered open in a panicked motion as her fingers tightly squeezed the tan cotton sheets of her bed. Her breathing grew raspy as she inhaled sharp breaths, as if she was fighting for every inch her life. She could feel sweat running down her back as the temperature of the room felt like it was boiling, or maybe it was just her body that produced such heat. Dazed, confused, and scared, she couldn't move an inch of her body despite being fully conscious and having the will. She wanted to shout but couldn't seem to as her throat felt dislodged. There was a feeling of despair that coursed through her body, seemingly centered in her chest. It pierced her like nothing she had ever felt before in her life, the feeling of a thousand imaginary daggers blasting into her heart. She stayed in that same, fragile position for a good minute until her breathing stabilized, and she finally had the ability to sit up and inch over the bed.

She stumbled her way into the living room, frightened by the room she had slept in. She was greeted with the smell of food, good and savory smells that lured her into the kitchen to find an outrageous amount of breakfast foods, from traditional Indonesian foods to typical American ones. Perched on a chair and chewing his food was her brunette roommate, whose blue eyes tore away from his food to look into her disturbed gaze.

"You look awful, Amano," he noted as he observed her tangled white mess of hair, frazzled face, and wrinkled pajamas.

"Probably," she agreed. The food looked amazing, but she wasn't sure if she was exactly welcome to the table. She took a step back and excused herself, "I'm going to freshen up."

As soon as she turned her back, Kaiba spoke up, "I can see you drooling over the food. Just eat now. There's a plate for you."

"If you _insist_ ," she gleefully complied and took the seat parallel to Kaiba. She reached toward a dish that had fried rice and eggs over, grasping her hand around the fork the plate had. However, she found herself trembling to grab her food. She frowned at her newfound weakness, astonished by how difficult it was to accomplish a menial task. She let go of the fork and before trying another attempt to scoop the contents of the dish onto her own plate.

"What is wrong with your hand?" Kaiba asked as he watched her tremble getting other food. He was bewildered by the woman's sudden lack of bodily function.

"I...honestly don't know," she meekly responded as she finally finished escorting different foods onto her plate. As she carefully sifted through her food, she continued, "I-I can't seem to shake the nightmare I had last night."

"...Nightmare?" Kaiba stopped chewing as he felt his heart skip a beat. It was quite possible that she could have had the same dreams that he had.

"I can't really describe it if I can't remember it," she said as her facial expression turned blank, "But I know how it felt..empty. Like I was looking for something...or someone, and I couldn't. And that felt terrible for some reason."

"Has it been recurring?"

"No," she let out a frustrated sigh and buried her face inside her hands for a bit before pulling back her hair behind her ears, "Ah, it's no big deal, really. Maybe I drank more than I should've last night, or maybe it's lack of sleep finally catching up to me. Maybe it's both. I can't even remember that I went to bed last night."

"Then don't go drinking and staying up so late by yourself," Kaiba's voice started to become irritated, and a tired Kisara wearily glared at him. He felt that he had just invited another argument from her, yet he couldn't help but express his annoyance for her apathy.

"Excuse me," Kisara's tone grew agitated, "But I wasn't exactly feeling the greatest yesterday after someone _clearly_ didn't want me around."

"So you're telling me that your natural response to someone insulting you is to get irresponsibly inebriated and to endanger yourself by being alone for so long in a foreign country?" Kaiba sneered and set his spoon down, "You really need to grow some thick skin and hammer in some common sense."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kisara too stopped taking bites of her food and set her utensils down, "I think you completely misconstrued my reasoning for being gone for so long yesterday. I wasn't butthurt, oh no, I was just repulsed by your superiority complex. I got drunk because I wanted to, and I stayed out late because this country had so much to offer. I can handle myself, so I wouldn't be too concerned about me. If anything, why are _you_ so concerned? I thought you wanted me gone."

"Why is it that I have to outline everything for you?" Kaiba grit his teeth, not planning to back down on his end, "Like I said before, you're here underneath the Kaiba name. If something happened to you, there's going to be a lot of shit in the aftermath, especially when the public relations manager is your boyfriend. It's not you that I care for, it's myself. Don't place yourself so highly. You're literally nothing to me but a deadweight."

Kisara clenched her fist underneath the table as she redirected her stare onto her lap. She could feel herself bubble in rage and her blood boil. It had been so long since she felt this way, this anger that she fought so hard to lock away, and he managed to find a key. She forced herself to take deep breaths and relaxed her muscles before announcing, "I'm finished eating."

As Kisara gathered her nearly untouched plate of food, Kaiba remarked, "You can't tell me you're full after eating so little of what you intentionally got."

"Well I'm full of your shit!" Kisara snapped as she stood up, glaring down at her aggressor.

Kaiba was taken aback at her sudden outburst. He stayed silent for a bit as he surveyed her evidently bitter face. Her lips were pursed together, and her eyes appeared as if they could kill. He shook his head as he coolly responded, "Well then, there's no need to wash your plate. The butler will."

Kisara took in a deep breath and set her plate down. She ran her hand through her hair before softly concluding, "I didn't mean to yell at you like that. Thank you for the food. I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day, but I'll make sure to come back at a better time."

He watched her go back into the room, and eventually go out the door an hour later.

* * *

He wouldn't see her again until about the afternoon, as he himself had other plans, and she clearly had hers. As soon as he walked into the living room from lunch, he caught a glimpse of her alabaster hair slipping into her bedroom.

When he went back inside his room to change, he couldn't stop but think about his actions and her behavior. Truthfully, he understood why he was in the wrong. It was clear the woman had some trauma from last night's dreams, and he himself was no stranger to being plagued by similar visions. He knew well enough that he had brushed aside her rather pertinent condition by pinning the blame on her late-night activities, which only caused the argument to escalate.

What truly piqued his interest, however, was her will to control her anger. He had noticed that she preferred to back down, despite showing some desire to quarrel. Hell, she even excused her tone when she knew she wasn't at fault. Frankly, he felt sort of tossed aside whenever she removed herself and let him win the argument.

A part of Kaiba had wanted to reassure her that she wasn't insane for waking up in a bed that she didn't remember laying in, but that would have required a confession that he was the one who carried her. It would only raise questions from the woman that the CEO had no wish to answer. A smaller part of him also wanted to transform his unheard apology from last night into an audible one, but that was completely out of the question.

Instead, he knocked on her door.

Kisara finally opened the door after what felt like centuries, but before she could even utter a word, Kaiba declared, "Let's go," as he tossed a motorcycle helmet into her arms.

She gaped at the helmet as she caught it, bewildered by the sudden gesture. She looked up to find him slipping out the door. _What the fuck...after putting me down all this time, he wants to…what?_ Her mind raced with conflicting thoughts as her feet led her to follow him.

She found the CEO, who was clad in a crisp white polo shirt, dark blue dress pants, and a set of shiny black shoes, all probably designer, crossing his arms and leaning against a sleek, plain black motorcycle. He looked a little too well-dressed for going around on a motorcycle.

"I'm sorry, but I don't-"

"You wanted to explore as much of this country as much as you can, right?" Kaiba interrupted her, only making her all the more confused.

"Yes, but-"

"Then _get on_ ," he continued, "I know some places that your sorry tourist ass would love. We can get dinner and stay up late. As long as I'm around, you can enjoy your time here without me having to worry."

"Wait, are you...sure?" Kisara asked for reassurance. She was completely puzzled by Kaiba's show of civil attitude.

Kaiba slipped on his helmet and slid into the seat of the motorcycle, already starting up the engine.

"I have no problem ditching you here if you don't get on already."

Kisara threw on her helmet and ran towards the motorcycle, hurriedly placing herself behind the man. Her hands instinctively reached up to hold on to his shoulders, but after realizing who she was touching, her hands shot back.

"The hell are you doing?" Kaiba glanced back at his passenger, who was terrified that he would tell her off for touching him. He barked, "Did you not remember my whole spiel about you dying under my name? Wrap your arms around me _properly_ unless you really want me to end your life on this ride."

"P-properly?" Kisara stammered as she returned to placing her hands on top of Kaiba's shoulders.

Kaiba let out a frustrated sigh and used both of his hands to one at a time redirect her arms from his shoulders to around his waist. "Yes, _properly_ ," he half-heartedly remarked.

As soon as Kaiba had started off, Kisara immediately understood the need to hold on tightly to his waist as she felt herself nearly fall off. He felt as strange as the first time she touched him, when she shook his hand during the lunch meeting. Even with his shirt barring skin-on-skin contact, the same feeling of warmth seeped into her body, a warmth so unusual and oddly attracting that it made Kisara feel slightly guilty. This time, she blamed it on the blistering hot temperature for the cause.

* * *

Half an hour went by in silence with Kisara feeling uncertain if she should converse with her driver after the mixed ways he had treated her and Kaiba concentrating entirely on maneuvering through the streets of Indonesia while simultaneously attempting to ignore his passenger's firm, yet tender embrace. The way she occasionally squeezed his bodice with more pressure from her arms and the way she leaned her chest deeper into his back during times when the road got rougher or when Kaiba had to make sharp turns simply drove him mad. During instances like those, he was reminded that she was actually there, encompassing his body.

After treading into a rural area, they eventually stopped at what appeared to be a giant rock, littered with ivies in the midst of miles of rice fields and vacant greeneries.

"Oh my god, it's a _giant rock_!" Kisara sarcastically exclaimed as she took off her helmet, "I love how you drove me this far to see a _giant rock_."

"Yes, it is a _giant rock_ ," her driver played along as he too took off his helmet and got off the motorcycle, "And we're going inside of it."

Kaiba walked towards the boulder, paying no attention to whether or not his companion followed him. She, of course, did. As he traipsed to the side of the structure, he found a little opening, barely visible by the mass of hanging leaves. It was tall enough for him to walk through, but the opening was on the narrow side.

Kisara, dubious, expressed her concern, "I'm beginning to think you're going to murder me and leave my body to rot here. This place is obscure enough."

"Trust me, if I wanted you dead, it would've been sooner," Kaiba smirked as he edged deeper into the little cave, "Just trust me."

"Tch," she clicked her tongue as she reluctantly followed him inside, careful not to graze the sides of the rough walls. As much as she lusted for adventure, she had doubts about the credibility of her roommate, especially after that morning.

After what seemed like centuries of stuttering around in a dimly lit cavern, sounds of water could be made out by the two's ears. Rays of sun traversed through cracks in the ceiling of the cave. Kisara's eyes widened as she realized where he had taken her. Excited, she ran ahead of Kaiba, gasping as soon as she came into full view of the sight in front of her.

"Oh...wow," she breathlessly said, feeling as if the sight beholding her demanded no words. She quickly sidled onto a rock to sit on.

It was a conglomeration of shrine ruins stacked haphazardly against the cave's walls in a dome-like pattern. Surges of water appeared to emerge out of the buildings, acting as a waterfall of sorts. The combination of waterworks and ancient structures was breathtaking, yet ominously so in the sense that everything was remnant of a long-gone civilization, and the structure was domineering in the way Kisara and Kaiba had to crane their necks to fully view the spectacle.

"This site isn't on any tourist map, but Mokuba and I found it after we got tired of tourist traps one summer," Kaiba mentioned as he came from behind and sat on a rock parallel to her, "From the buildings, we observed they were religious structures similar to others in the area."

"Mmm...I can tell," she remarked as her finger pointed to a certain structure, "That looks like a _padmasana_." She didn't stop there, but decided to continue voicing her observations and pointing at structures, "Several of the roof designs reflect the _pelinggih meru_ , and there are several _bale pawedan, bale pepelik, bale murda_ pavilions…."

 _Kaiba cleared his throat as he got lost in Kisara's observations. Astonished, he asked, "How on earth_ do you know all of that?"

Kisara chuckled and blushed as she realized that she let her excitement get the best of her. She broke her gaze from the structures and turned to Kaiba, grinning ear-to-ear.

"I really love learning about different architectures, especially deeply cultural ones. When I got here, I ate up any information I could get about Bali's architecture. I like being able to identify buildings. I guess I get it from my dad, he-" she caught herself as soon as she realized that she was about to go off on a tangent about her life story. She feared that her listener would get annoyed. She pursed her lips and avoided Kaiba's gaze, saying, "Nevermind."

He liked seeing the light in her eyes when she excitedly explained things of her interest. As soon as it died down, he found himself wanting to see more of that shine.

"You mentioned before that you had knowledge of construction, which is what helped you identify the problem with my jet coaster. And now you revealed a part of that knowledge. Tell me, how did you wake up one day and have that interest?"

There it was again. That spark in her eyes.

"I didn't wake up one day," she gleefully answered, "It actually took several days of waking up at 4AM when I was younger to fully appreciate my dad's job. He was a full-time construction worker, and he would take me and my siblings to his work site so he could keep an eye on us. Needless to say, I ended up being the one helping him with minor tasks and actively listening to his, as my siblings would say, "lackluster" speeches about the structures he helped build. Seeing him build some of Domino's most prominent buildings was just so fascinating…"

Her eyes glimmered as they met Kaiba's. Her wide grin diminished into a simple tight-lipped smile before adding, "I especially enjoyed watching him construct some of Kaiba Land's attractions."

"Which Kaiba Land?"

"Well, he was there for the very first one right here in Domino, and so was I. You know, Kaiba," her voice got softer, "I was quite upset my little brother and sister couldn't attend the very first opening ceremony for your first park, despite my dad having a part in it. However, when I saw the kids you did allow, I thought you were the most charitable person in the world, and I was puzzled as to why there was virtually zero media coverage."

"Those kids…" he trailed, "were from a _special orphanage_. I banned any media reporters during that time because I didn't want them bothering the children. Besides, there was a later opening for the general public that those sniveling journalists could write about. I always do something for that particular orphanage each year."

Kisara laughed at his explanation, holding a hand to her mouth to keep herself from looking too crazy as she continued for a straight minute.

Kaiba was baffled by the woman's unexpected response. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Did I say something funny?"

She waved her hand and shook her head as she took time to recollect herself.

"No, no!" She exclaimed, "What you said just reminded me of something Reo told me. He complains that when the PR department deals with you, it's more like _crisis control_. There's always more negative articles out there to suppress than good ones to help your credibility. He apparently reformed the PR department to focus entirely on your genius rather than wasting time on trying to um...fake something good in personality, haha. But here you are, telling me you take part in philanthropic activities, and I don't really see many articles about that!"

"Ha," he scoffed, "Hamada...is correct in his methods. It doesn't matter what my personality is as long as there's enough exposure on my intelligence and my creations. That's what made the company, not my charity."

"But it wouldn't hurt-"

"But it doesn't matter, Amano," he sighed and shook his head. Despite feeling irritated, he kept his calm as he continued, "Making myself look good and feeding the PR department with my little charity activities requires useless effort. The customer doesn't think about my ego when he buys a duel disk. He won't care about my humanitarianism. I'd rather have that in the shadows."

"I think you have a little too much in the shadows…" she murmured as her eyes left his to gander at the waterfall and ruins. Silence befell between the two for a bit, with only the sounds of roaring water. As her eyes continued to scan the structures, she started to feel them strain. Eventually it pained her to the point that she had to abruptly look down and massage her eyes.

"Amano?" Kaiba immediately stood up and walked toward her, and without much thinking, placed a hand on her frail shoulder.

One of her hands promptly wrapped around his wrist, which made him nearly retract his hand. Her head snapped up and a set of terrified, bright blue eyes looked up into his.

"W-why?" she stuttered and tried her best to articulate her words, " _Seto_..ugh." Her hand limply fell from his wrist as her head too went down.

Worried, Kaiba bent down to place both his hands on her shoulders, fully facing her.

" _Kisara_?!" her first name slipped out in response, "Don't you fucking dare be playing around right now!" He yelled at her as he started to shake her body back and forth.

Eventually her head rose up and she appeared conscious enough to realize he was shaking her uncontrollably.

"Kaiba, I'm getting dizzy!" she shouted at him in order to get him to stop. He did, but his expression was incredulous.

"You...addressed me by my first name...and now you went back to calling me by my last."

"I-I did?" Her face genuinely appeared confused.

Frustrated, Kaiba stood up and cross his arms while talking down to her, "You seriously didn't just forget about your little spasm literally seconds ago."

"If I was having spasms, then why the hell would you violently shake me?!" she cried out, puzzled by his logic.

"Fuck if I know!" He shouted at her, immediately realizing his harshness as he noticed Kisara bite her lip and look away in disappointment. He relieved a huge sigh and uncrossed his arms. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but I think it's best we leave this place now. Since we're in Ubud, we can go to a marketplace."

He extended his arm toward her. She surveyed his outstretched hand a bit before hesitantly clasping it with hers. He helped her get up and as soon as she was, the two awkwardly let go at about the same time.

* * *

Kaiba had let her go exploring in the marketplace by herself, figuring that a break was best between the two of them after the cave. He was looking at wood carvings, but his mind was far from the objects he was speculating. He kept thinking about the way Kisara acted, or rather the way her body decided to act. He was _concerned_ for her wellbeing, and a part of him had a sneaking suspicion that he had some responsibility to her dwindling health. But that was as impossible as Joey Wheeler being a functioning member of society.

He was about to leave the wood carving stand until he felt someone grab his hand. He whirled around in shock as he caught a rather short elderly woman depositing something in his hand. He took his hand back and opened it to uncover a little dragon wood carving in Balinese style.

" _Naga_ ," the woman pointed past Kaiba, causing him to look back and see Kisara walking towards him.

"Well, I've got everything I want to give back to my family. Ah, they have these beautiful theater puppets called wayang-" Kisara stopped herself as she noticed Kaiba spinning around. "...You good?"

He couldn't find her. The elderly woman was nowhere to be found as soon as he tore his eyes away from her. Yet, the dragon in his hand was still tangible. He focused his attention back onto Kisara as he shoved his hand with the dragon into his pants' pocket.

"I'm perfectly fine. Let's go."

* * *

"Oh my gosh."

Kaiba had brought her to a vast field of white flowers. It was as if the field stood by itself, unbothered by the rest of the world. She walked through the field, careful not to step onto the flowers.

"They're beautiful."

"They're edelweiss," Kaiba chided in as he stared at the flowers. His heart started pounding harder against his chest and his mouth got drier the longer he leered at the wooly flowers. Scared of his own thoughts, he motioned Kisara into a different direction.

"But this isn't the best part. Come here," he announced as he brusquely walked away from the edelweiss field, never looking back at the accursed flowers.

Kisara, curious, followed her guide. Once she caught up to him, she audibly gasped the same way she did for the waterfall ruins. Although the edelweiss field was beautiful, what beheld her was far more spectacular.

Marigolds bloomed in warm, orange-yellow saturations in an endless stream of pure exquisiteness. They appeared endless. If the edelweiss had a world of their own, then the marigold flowers had the universe. As far as her eye could see, it was all orange. Even the sky, which eventually transitioned to evening, pulsed in dusky tones.

As Kisara walked into the field, Kaiba couldn't help but notice how she looked nice in her yellow dress. He was well-aware that she had on a yellow dress the entire time, but at that moment, when the world seemed to be bathed in cadmium pigments, she especially looked divine. Her milky white hair was pushed to one side, revealing the backless design of her dress. Her back was exposed, displaying her smooth and creamy shoulder blades.

"Um...Kaiba?" she turned around, "Could you maybe take a picture of me here?" As she held out her phone to him, he wordlessly nodded his head.

Before he took the picture, he commented, "I don't think the lighting is good. Maybe if you go there?"

Because the sun was starting to wane, only a part of the field still had bright light. Kisara dutifully walked toward the bright spot with Kaiba following behind.

The light seemed to perfectly illuminate Kisara's splendor, from her kind, sapphire eyes to her radiant smile.

He, however, stood in the dark as he took a couple of photos of the woman. As soon as he was done taking her photos, in all the stupid positions she decided to do, he returned her phone. When he returned it to her, his feet stopped at the border where the dimmer parts of the atmosphere touched the light.

"Ah, these are wonderful!" She happily squealed as she scrolled through the photos Kaiba had taken of her. "But I want _one more_."

Before he could process what she meant, she had slipped one of her arms through his his and pulled him into the light, snapping a quick selfie with him.

"I look stupid."

"You look like the time Yugi Muto beat you in a duel," she snorted as she looked at the selfie she had just taken. Kaiba's eyes were comically wide in shock and his mouth was partially open in the photo.

"...What did you say?" his eyes starting to become as wide as they appeared in the photo.

"Oh, sorry...should I have been more specific on which duel? I watched a ton of dueling videos of Yugi one night. You popped up in some."

She was teasing him. Her smile had a slyness to it that he didn't expect from her.

"Why are you here again?" He rolled his eyes at her, feeling insulted yet partially delighted that she became comfortable enough to tease him.

"Because the greatest duelist in the whole wide world graciously allowed me to accompany him to his most exclusive villa! I, a poor, aspiring host of this summer's Battle City am simply another lucky receiver of one of Seto Kaiba's top secret philanthropic missions!"

"You're crazy. Actually insane."

"Why, thank you," she dramatically flipped her hair as she started to walk away from him. She looked over her shoulder and added, "Really, though. Thank you. For bringing me everywhere today.

"The day isn't over yet, so save your thanks," he brushed aside her thanks, as he slowly followed her through the field.

She only smiled in response and started scrolling through her phone.

"Hmm, marigolds have a lot of symbolisms."

"They don't mean shit, Amano."

"But it's fun!" She turned back to him and dramatically read off her phone, "Marigold flowers are often seen as _"the herb of the sun"_ or _"the sun's bride."_ However, different cultures have different meanings. Mexicans use marigolds during el Día de los Muertos, as a way to guide the dead to their altars. Christian weddings ban marigolds as they represent grief...oh well, I guess that eliminates marigolds from my wedding."

"A little too early to think about your wedding, isn't it? It's been like a few weeks since you've been with him," he mocked.

"You can't lie and say you've never thought of it."

"Marriage or flowers?"

"Either."

Kaiba scoffed at the notion of either before responding, "Well, I've never cared for what flowers I want at my wedding. But...I can't say I've never...never thought of marriage."

"Oh? Is there a special woman in the eyes of Japan's most unromantic bachelor?"

"You're hilarious," he sarcastically retorted, "It's more like I occasionally receive dating profiles from business partners and their daughters, and I'm forced to think about future alliances."

" _Alliances_...that's a funny term for marriage."

"It's the corporate term."

"Which is why it's funny," she shot him a frown, "Your romance life sounds like the ones I see in dramas where the big, scary son of the chairman eventually falls in love with the one he's promised to. Or! Or! He rebels against his family, gives up everything he owns, and marries the peasant girl he's loved since forever!"

He blinked at her exaggerations, finding her sort of amusing. He shook his head and replied, "Why am I not surprised you watch those things? Those plot lines are recycled trash."

"That may be so, but they're a little different each time in their own way. It's still cute," she winked at him, "and it helps that there's new eye candy each time."

"Neither help. It's the same thing, regardless of minor plot changes or a change in decent looking actors."

"How would you know?" She inquired, "Only a regular viewer can rightfully conclude that."

Kaiba paused for a moment, realizing that he was at a loss for words. Her eyebrows went up and down in mockery of him. He ignored her gaze and lied, "My brother Mokuba...forced me to." God, if he was usually slick in lies, this moment wasn't his best.

"You're joking, right?"

"No."

"Liar...since you hate dramas so much, you must be either a closet fanboy or…" she tapped her chin in question, "A _girlfriend_ forced you."

He chose to stay silent. The two continued walking across the field, yet the tension between the two of them grew increasingly awkward. Kisara blamed herself for ending the conversation, so she tried her best to revive it.

"I guess that's annoying, receiving all those dating proposals. Having those businessmen throw their daughters at you-"

"Amano," he softly interrupted her words, "Don't empathize with someone you don't know. You don't have to do that for the sake of conversation. I'm fine. I usually just give those proposals to Mokuba, and then we laugh at them over some beers."

"How cute," she remarked as her eyes got smaller from her widening thin-lipped smile.

"It's going to get dark soon. We should head back," he said, trying to ignore her rather endearing smile.

"Mm," she nodded in response.

Together they walked back across the long distance of the marigold field and pass the edelweiss. The motorcycle was staged near the white flower field, and once they reached the motorcycle, Kisara looked back and wondered loudly, "Since marigolds have meaning, then edelweiss must too."

Kaiba propped himself onto the motorcycle seat, looking ahead at the road. He squint his eyes and said, "It means "noble white" in German. They're more commonly known to grow in the Alps, where men used to climb and risk their lives to pick the flower to prove their love for their bride-to-be. There. You don't have to Google it. Now, get on."

She silently complied, curious as to how he had known that bit of information. However, she had a feeling that he wouldn't want her asking more about it from the way he seemed to rush his explanation.

* * *

The long ride back was filled with chatter between the two. Kisara would point at certain structures they passed and report what she learned, and Kaiba would either provide more information or dismiss what she read on Wikipedia by correcting her. Kaiba initially wanted to eat at a well known restaurant, yet Kisara's wish to dine at a local one won him over.

The two ended up conversing more about the country's culture, and it led to talks about other countries.

"So you've practically been everywhere for vacation?" Kisara sipped her water, impressed by the CEO's exploration.

"Practically every Asian country and European country, I would say. America is common, but mainly for business," he answered, amused by how she was so easily excited over his travels.

"And you often revisit?"

"Yes."

"So is there a country you would never go back to?"

Kaiba choked on his water as he was drinking. He coughed and used a napkin to wipe his mouth. He cleared his throat and looked at his companion.

"...There is."

Kisara tilted her head at the man's reaction. She pressed on, "And that country is...?"

As he met her eyes, he knew that the entire day he had been more honest with her than most in his life.

" _Egypt_ ," he answered. He half-expected a reaction from her as soon as he pronounced that dreaded country. However, she simply appeared curious and asked, "Why?"

He got up and motioned towards the door.

"It's complicated. We should get going."

When they reached the register, Kaiba reached for his wallet, yet a pale hand reached out toward the clerk with crumpled rupiahs.

"What are you doing?" He shot a dirty look at the white haired woman, who ignored him and thanked the clerk for a good meal in broken English.

"Let's go," she winked as she walked through the exit with Kaiba following behind, "A small thanks for the fancy lunch you paid for me and Reo...and for today."

"That was really unnecessary-" he was abruptly cut off by her sudden shriek.

"Look!" She pointed over to a bar on the edge of the beach. It was a typical beach club, with a thatched roof and open bar. Yellow fairy lights were strung around the area. From a distance, one could make out a crowd of people dancing near a bonfire.

"Please don't tell me you want to go there," he said in resignation, "It's getting really late."

" _Please_? Just a couple of drinks," Kisara clasped her hands together and looked up to him, feigning puppy eyes.

"Are you an alcoholic? Did you not remember this morning?" He gently stabbed her forehead with a finger, urging her to stop looking at him that way.

"But I want to try some drinks I can't access in Japan!" She whined as she rubbed her forehead after Kaiba's little poke.

"Fine, but that's all on your bill," he concluded. Kisara playfully punched his shoulder as a form of thanks, to which he responded by exaggerating, "One scratch and it's an entire month's salary of a hospital bill for you."

"Then I'll pack all my stuff and flee from my debt," she joked as she cheerily traipsed toward the bar. He followed, wondering when he had become so amenable.

* * *

Kaiba had no idea was he was sitting on a bar stool, alone and with an alcoholic beverage in his hand. _No_ , he knew perfectly why he was there. That white haired woman had dragged him here, that _damn_ woman - the one who he voluntarily sashayed around with the entire day. The one who had left him at the bar to go gallivanting around the bonfire with strangers. Loud music of a foreign language, with the lyrics blurring into his own undecipherable ones in his head, only irritated him more. He had too much to drink, too much of a liquid that had far too high of an alcohol percentage. As his eyes lifted from his glass, he surveyed the entire space of the open bar, overwhelmed by the amount of partygoers in the vicinity. Everyone was indistinguishable, but one. That _damn_ woman - the one who appeared so clear in his vision, both conscious and unconscious. She looked so bright compared to everyone else.

He set his drink down and got up, walking towards that light. _His_ light. However, when he reached the crowd of people, he felt someone pull on him. Another woman had forced herself into his arms, moving around to the beat of whatever godforsaken club song was playing. He had no wish to dance with the stranger, but he felt his will to weak to control his body.

"Kaiba?" a familiar voice emerged from behind him. As soon as his eyes landed onto his addresser, he pulled away from the stranger and held that slim, yet calloused hand of the pale, white-haired woman who called on him.

"How drunk did you get?" She spoke more but none of her words wanted to process. The CEO simply pulled her closer to him, with one hand clasping hers and the other wrapping around her waist.

Kisara looked into his eyes, shocked and slightly afraid of his intentions. Those royal blue eyes didn't budge. Despite his drunken state, he appeared to be entirely focused on her. She felt her heart hammer hard, threatening to fly out of her mouth. His touch with her hand and the one on her waist blazed with the heat of a thousand suns. Before they knew it, the two were moving along the beat of music, perfectly in sync in a flurry of unplanned movements. They were simply another couple in a sea of moving bodies, an insignificant component of a larger machine. He never displaced his eyes from her whimsical figure, and she never tore hers away from his. It was an evocative series of sensations that neither had anticipated.

The spell between the two was bound to end, and it did. Once they reached a more deserted area, they separated after realizing what they had just done. Embarrassed, the the two decided to leave towards the long stretch of beach right outside the bar, which became their sobering path.

"Take your shoes off. They look too expensive to be ruined by sand," Kisara gently instructed as she removed her black flats.

Kaiba grunted in response but removed his black leather shoes. The grit of the sand underneath his feet felt oddly satisfying, as he and Kisara silently traipsed underneath the night sky. The moon was ever so full, providing only a little light to the quiet sands.

She was the one to break the silence.

"I never would have guessed you could dance like that," she simply chuckled.

Normally he would've given her a sardonic reply. However, the entire day with her caused him to slowly become more comfortable with being a little bit honest. The alcohol helped too.

"You…" he paused a bit, wondering for a moment if it was right to tell. He let himself mentally rehearse his words before continuing, "reminded me of someone...someone I gave _edelweiss_ to."

"Edelweiss?" Her mind raced back to the time at the flower fields, when the two were about to depart, and Kaiba had explained to her the meaning of that fuzzy white flower. Once she realized what he was talking about, she widened her eyes and said, "You're telling me you-"

"She danced, and she taught me how to dance," he drunkenly slurred, not caring if he made much sense, "We used to dance together." He abruptly stopped and held his hand to his mouth. He could feel a toxicity within his stomach, a result from his alcohol consumption and even more poisonous memories brewing within his head, memories he thought he had vaulted away in the vestiges of his mind.

"You should throw up. You'll feel better after," Kisara worriedly said as she gently rubbed the man's back. The motion of her hand only made him even sicker.

He pushed her hand away and held onto it as he raised his head to talk, "No. I'm _fine_. Just-just...get us out of here. Get a taxi... _please_."

Kisara bit her lip as she observed Seto Kaiba's weak form, a form that caused him to plead. He looked pathetic, with his dazed face and unruly hair headed in every direction, a broken ghost of his normally stoic self. His breathing was abnormally faster and his face was flushed in scarlet red. She had so many questions for the CEO, but she understood his wishes.

"Alright."

She called a taxi, and they eventually returned to the villa.

* * *

 _Edelweiss_

That flower kept ringing in Kisara's head as she was showering, and she kept wondering if Kaiba had meant it to be literal or metaphorical. She lifted her face toward the shower head, letting the water drown her face. She felt as if she barely nudged the surface of Seto Kaiba despite his sincere display of honesty. Unlike her, who didn't mind sharing her life story once comfortable, that man had no wish to share his. Then again, he wasn't exactly the type to easily find comfort with someone. Still, she was overjoyed by his newfound affability. Although she knew he would never admit it, she suspected that he had taken her out as a ways of apologizing for his behavior, and she appreciated that. She turned off the shower and stepped out, dried herself, and put on a pair of soft green pajamas.

When she stepped out the shower, she caught the familiar brunette seated on a couch, looking dead straight into her eyes. The only light turned on in the dim living room was the light next the couch. Seto Kaiba looked rather eery, like the night before when she attempted to sneak in.

"Amano, come here," he patted the couch.

Kisara wordlessly obeyed and sat down right next to him, clueless on what to say.

"I'm leaving early. I'll be gone tomorrow morning because of an issue at work…" he trailed off a bit before continuing, "And I need you to understand that...I want us to go back to being who we were before once we leave this island."

" _Before_?" her voice faltered as she asked.

"Before _this_. Before I brought you to those places. I don't want you thinking that we're friends or something," he firmly said, looking to his side to view her.

Her head looked down at her hands folded on top of one another on her lap. She continued looking down when she asked, "Then what _are_ we?"

"Strangers."

"You know…" she lifted her head and peered into his eyes, "I think you treat your business partners better than me."

"Well they have something I actually want. You, on the other hand, are an employee that had to _beg_ for her position, a position that requires little skill. Face it, Amano, you got your job because some pervy PR manager thought you had a pretty face. Don't compare yourself to valuable people," he coldly spat. In a matter of moments, he had reverted back to his normal self. Any ounce of pity that he once had was gone at this point.

Kisara swallowed the lump in her throat, visibly hurt by his unnecessarily degenerating accusation. She felt her body begin shake. The same feeling of irascibility that she experienced in the morning began to emerge once again.

"I'm not the pathetic one here," she boldly voiced, "You're _fucking_ scared, aren't you? So _fucking_ scared that when you finally get comfortable enough with someone to joke around with or share a part of yourself...you just lash out!"

"I'm not the one yelling and cursing right now, am I? _What_ is so _wrong_ with just forgetting what happened today?" He responded dryly, apathetic to her feelings.

"Because…" she found herself faltering once again, "That's not how the world works! You can't just delete everything you hate from your memory, and-and expect everything to be fine just because _you_ decide nothing happened!"

"Well I've been fine doing that up until now. Up until _you_ ," he glared at her.

"Well _I'm_ not fine!" she abruptly stood up and equalled his glare, "And I'm _not_ going to apologize for my temper this time. _Fine_. I'm fine with being strangers. Not because I wanted to, but because you've left me no choice with your _disgusting_ attitude."

Kisara stormed off, but once her hand wrapped around the door knob of her bedroom door, she took in deep breaths. She looked over her shoulder and calmly said, " _For what it's worth_ , Kaiba, I had a wonderful time, and I'm relieved to know that there was someone who once cared for you, because people like us...people who can work till death without thinking for themselves _need_ someone. It's a shame you probably drove her away."

At the thudding of her shut door, Kaiba closed his eyes and leaned against the couch, overwhelmed by the events of the day. He slipped his hands into his pockets. His right hand twitched as he realized that he still kept the little dragon carving mysteriously given to him, and it was a good reminder that he hadn't showered. Ever since he got back to the villa, he only sat at the same position and devised of ways to push _her_ away. He pulled out the figurine, only making himself more upset as he held the artistically crafted item closer to his face. He had never been more unsettled in his life. In a fit of frustration, he tossed the sculpture into the trash can on the way to the bathroom.

* * *

Author's Notes: Joey Wheeler appears in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!

zipzipper Thank you so much for catching that typo! I actually laughed over my misuse of "board" and "bored"! I'm glad you enjoy my writing too :)

Bleachpower I'm happy to know you're pleased with Kisara's personality. I'm still trying to get a full sense for her, so it's encouraging to know that I'm headed in the right direction!

I'm going to start responding to all reviews of the previous chapter in the bottom Author's Notes. I wasn't sure what to do for the first couple chapter reviews because I can't directly respond to guest reviews. Anyways, have a good day ^^


	8. Chapter 7: Aftermath

"Mm...I'll pick you up once Seto gets home. Sorry, I would go sooner if I didn't feel so bad for him. His vacation got cut short because there was some turf war going on between marketing and IT. That, and he had to go straight to KaibaCorp after the flight. I couldn't handle it myself, either. I feel like some people are definitely getting fired," Mokuba chuckled over the phone as he laid comfortably across the seat of his apartment couch while flipping through channels on the large HD television during Sunday evening.

"It's fine," a dulcet, feminine voice replied, "There's no rush! Aw, I really hope he's not feeling too angry about going back...to be honest I think he'd be a bit relieved."

"Relieved? Hold up," Mokuba turned off the television, intrigued by her assumption, "Why?"

"Isn't he rooming with Kisara?"

"How'd you know?! I haven't told another soul!" he exclaimed, bewildered by his girlfriend's knowledge.

"Kisara is my apartment roommate…" a laugh as clear as bells emerged from the speaker, "Oh shoot! I've never properly introduced her to you! It's sort of hard to since she works weird hours, which is why she's never around when you come over."

"Ah, right, the apartment absentee," he joked but then got serious, "Did something happen between her and Seto?"

"Mm...well, they haven't exactly been getting along. She told me some weird things last night over call...pretty sure Kaiba wants nothing to do with her."

"What exactly happened-" Mokuba's question was cut short as he heard the audible opening of the front door, "Hey, he's here! I'll see you soon!"

"Alright! Can't wait!" As soon as the cheery voice said good-bye, Mokuba turned his phone off and rushed toward the front door.

Kaiba was greeted by an incoming Mokuba, whose socks helped him perfectly skate across the slick marble tiles and reach out to his brother with arms wide.

"MokubAH-," he grunted as his little brother crashed onto him with a huge hug, "Sometimes I forget you're a full-grown adult."

Mokuba let go of Kaiba but kept one hand on the older one's shoulder while propping his other hand on his own waist. He looked dead into his eyes and asked, "You have to tell me _everything_ that went on with Ms. Amano."

"Will you let me at least sit on the couch first?" Kaiba asked matter-of-factly.

"Fine," Mokuba agreed and let go of his brother.

But as soon as Mokuba complied, Kaiba tossed his suitcase at Mokuba, who automatically caught it, and made a run for the stairs toward his bedroom.

"SETO, DON'T YOU DARE RUN FROM ME!" Mokuba yelled as he dropped the suitcase and sprinted after his brother, but was defeated by a hair as Kaiba shut his bedroom door.

"I'M GOING TO SLEEP!" Kaiba shouted from behind the door.

"I'M GOING TO PICK THE LOCK!" Mokuba banged incessantly on the door.

"GO FUCK YOUR GIRLFRIEND!"

"I WILL, BUT NOT BEFORE YOU COME OUT!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"IF YOU DON'T TALK TO ME NOW, THEN I CAN BRING EVERYONE, INCLUDING _JOEY WHEELER_ , TO THE APARTMENT FOR MY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION THIS SATURDAY!"

A dead silence fell for a moment. Mokuba smirked as he heard the clicking of the door knob. A sullen-faced Kaiba emerged.

"What do you want to know?" he begrudgingly asked.

Mokuba smugly beamed and crossed his arms before stating, " _Everything_."

" _Our whole universe was in a hot, dense state. Then nearly fourteen billion years ago, expansion started, wait. The earth began to cool, the autotrophs began to drool-_ "

As entertaining as it was to listen to Kaiba's off-key singing of a popular American TV show, Mokuba cut him off, "Seto, you know what I'm talking about!"

"You know that I'm absolutely exhausted after a seven hour flight and a five hour shouting match at the office, _and_ you know I'd rather be one of Yugi's bitches before Wheeler touches my floor."

"What's so wrong about Ms. Amano that you can't tell me anything about her?"

" _Everything_. Ugh," Kaiba rubbed his forehead as he sighed, "I can't even _begin_ to describe my problems with that woman, and I don't want to. Please, Mokuba. Just let it go."

Mokuba frowned. He was completely vexed as to why Kisara Amano was such a thorn in his brother's butt. Kaiba had never really been a lady's man, and he was always secretive about the relationships he was involved in. That is, if he ever _had_ any relationship. Mokuba suspected there was a time when he had casual ones, but could never confirm an actual one.

"If I let it go...then you have to let me have my birthday party here. It's only going to be the usual crowd...which includes Joey. I'm inviting my girlfriend too, which means I get to finally introduce her to you!"

Before Kaiba could open his mouth, Mokuba quickly added, "And you _can't_ opt out. I want you to be there. You're going to feel bad for not spending a lot of time with this handsome face when I leave for America."

Those words cut Kaiba deeper than he wanted them to. Truth was, he _would_ miss Mokuba. He would be lacking the single most important person in his life in about a month or two.

"You're really going to guilt-trip me like that, aren't you? Typical," Kaiba shook his head but kept a smile on his face before continuing, "Fine. It's best I stay here anyways, so I can make sure Wheeler doesn't shit his dog ass on any of the toilets. You better tell that mutt to piss before he comes here."

"Gotchu," Mokuba clicked his tongue and snapped his fingers, "Oh, I almost forgot! I'm thinking about inviting my girlfriend's roommate too. I haven't met her but I think this weekend would be the perfect opportunity to. She'll be...shall I say, another _surprise_?"

"Whatever, I'll be too busy having a stroke from Wheeler's existence to care about her."

"Thanks Seto. I'm glad I convinced you without any devious tactic whatsoever," Mokuba grinned and patted his brother's shoulder, "You have a good nap now."

Kaiba watched his little brother run down the stairs to go on a date with his girlfriend. He shut his door and shook his head thinking about the little bastard. He only had himself to blame, however, as his little brother had to look up to someone growing up. It was just unfortunate that Mokuba's charisma was slathered with pounds of mischievousness, and he often used it against Kaiba.

The warmth and comfort of his bed immediately initiated a sense of mitigation. For a split second, his world made a little sense. Just him and the bed. But then he thought about all his issues, and despondency slammed into him like a recurring train over his railroad-tethered body.

Work. It was stupid. There was nothing to work for. He was just a facade in front of the media, lying through his clenched teeth about the so-called next generation of duel disk systems. A small smile appeared on his face as he remembered the chaos that went on for his company when he would be gone for long periods to play card games, or save the world, or both during his teenage years. Dueling. When was the last time dueling was genuinely fun? Maybe when he battled against Atem in Battle City all those years ago, but the Pharaoh had officially left. What was he to do? Invent an elevator to space and use some magical item to transport him across dimensions and duel Atem to the literal death? That was about as probable as meeting the Priest along the way and asking why the hell his dragon girlfriend had to pop up in the modern world. Kisara. _Amano_.

"Kisara," he softly whispered into thin air. No other word held such perplexity. No other word could cause a slight strain in his chest or an immediate headache. He clenched his right fist as he reimagined the way he had pushed her away last night. It seemed so long ago, perhaps because it was in an entirely different country. He was extremely private in his worries and anxieties, to the point where he couldn't even let Mokuba know, so when one of them slipped and that woman caught him, he couldn't help but push her away. Honest to god, he was unhappy with his decision, but he would rather be that way instead of showing he was weak. He unfurled his first.

 _She's right. I am pathetic._

It was going to be one of those nights - those nights when he wouldn't want to face the next day. Perhaps getting it on with Atem in the afterlife wouldn't be so bad after all. He pulled out his cellphone, and without giving it much thought, searched that woman's name. Hamada mentioned something about setting up a new social media account for her.

Her search results came out pretty decently. A lot of articles popped up regarding a couple new contracts she had signed with various agencies. Her Instagram link was about the fourth one listed. He tapped on it.

Scrolling through, he noticed a majority of her photos were professionally taken and brand sponsorships. Most likely, she had nothing to do with the account, and it was all a PR thing. However, her most recent photo was one he was very much familiar with.

It was of her in the field of marigolds with her arms stretched out and her bright smile. The one that he took. From what he could tell, it was the only "personal" photo posted. There was no way the company would make her post that photo. He took it with her phone, therefore she chose to upload that particular one. Also, the time stamp indicated she had uploaded the photo that very day, even after last night's argument. A glimmer of hope in his heart appeared.

Somehow, he felt a little better being reminded that her entire experience wasn't absolutely terrible, and he didn't entirely treat her like trash.

 _For what it's worth, I had a wonderful time_.

Leave it to that woman to leave a compliment when angry. He chuckled to himself remembering that piece of dialogue. However, he was reminded that in the end, she was still peeved, and he still discarded her. That same feeling of uneasiness settled into his stomach once again. He tossed his phone off the bed and buried himself underneath his sheets, groaning at his pattern of thought.

Things would be fine. Their paths would stop crossing. The weekend's happenstance would be the final conclusion to their encounters. At least, until maybe Battle City.

 _Fuck._

* * *

"Fuck," Kisara mumbled as she felt herself slip on her own suitcase. She bit her lip as she felt the pain from her foot, gripping tightly onto the table next to her. Her eyes lowered to silently curse at her clumsy feet, but something caught her eye in the corner. Something was glimmering in the trash can next to the table. Curious, she peeked inside. There wasn't much trash, save a few crumpled papers. The Monday morning sun streaming from the large windows of the villa miraculously hit a visible wooden object. She bent down to fish for the little thing.

She furrowed her brows at the object, not being able to remember throwing a dragon figurine away herself.

 _Could_ _ **he**_ _have tossed this away? But why?_

She shook her head, realizing that she was going to run late for her flight back to Domino. Even though a KaibaCorp plane was taking her, she didn't want to make the the staff wait so long. She shoved the little dragon figurine inside of her purse, took her suitcase, and walked out of the villa, along with all the memories, both good and bad, that it held.

During her seven hour plane flight, she would mindlessly watch old films on the flat screen TV. Attention evaded her as she drifted into episodes of the entire vacation. She had spent the Sunday without him by herself, pushing herself to explore more of the country. Hell, she even rode a camel and an elephant. Despite trying to convince herself that she didn't care, she knew in her heart that his words still bothered her. As much as she pretended to smile to different people, from vendors to tour guides, she knew all of her smiles that day were hollow.

 _You, on the other hand, are an employee that had to beg for her position, a position that requires little skill. Face it, Amano, you got your job because some pervy PR manager thought you had a pretty face._

Those words resonated with her yesterday and even until now. As she looked out the window, she could see her partial reflection, her so-called "pretty face." In all honesty, she knew she wasn't in the least bit average looking. If she were, then she wouldn't have been praised for her looks throughout her life. It gave her an advantage. It gave her a job. Several. She raised her trembling hand to her face, rubbing her cheek and still staring at her own reflection. But what good is there to have such a face when she bore no valuable skill? She didn't perform well during her school years, and she didn't pursue a college degree. A "pretty face" was worthless if there was nothing behind it. It was an insult.

 _He's right. I am just a pretty face._

She could feel her eyes prick with wetness. She watched her face grow redder, yet her face remained emotionless.

"Miss, are you ok?" The flight attendant had arrived to check on her. She came with a glass of water.

Kisara immediately moved her face away from the window, wiped her wet eyes, and flashed the flight attendant one of her trademark smiles. She waved her hands and insisted, "I'm fine! I'm just really going to miss this beautiful country! Thank you!"

"You're very welcome," the flight attendant returned the smile and set the glass on the table in front of Kisara's seat. She returned to her flight cabin.

 _There I go again...smiling without reason._

Kisara's face immediately fell, feeling her tears start to surge. She desperately grabbed for her water and took several sips to help calm herself. After she drank about half the glass, she set it down and leaned back into her seat. She felt slightly better. She looked down at her lap and reorganized her thoughts.

She told herself once again that because she had her face, she was able to make more money, and more money meant an easier time for her family. The public liked her face, so companies had flocked to her with emails for brand promotions and modeling contracts. Reo Hamada liked her face, so he went out his way to contact her with a job opportunity for KaibaCorp and asked her out a little later. She shook her head at the last idea. No. He loved her for more than that. Kaiba was wrong in that aspect. A warm feeling started to emit through her chest at the thought of Reo. Sure, he showered her in compliments regarding her appearance, but he did more than just make her feel beautiful. He listened to her.

Missing his face, she pulled out her phone and opened her photos app. She didn't search for him, however, because the photo that popped up after she opened the app completely made her forget about Reo. It was of her in the marigold field. She had uploaded that particular photo yesterday to her instagram. It was the only photo that she personally uploaded. The reason why she bothered to was because it was another desperate attempt to convince herself that she was happy. Her eyes softened at the woman in the picture, the one who had an authentic smile and the one who, at the time, enjoyed the company of the man behind the camera. She swiped through each of the field photos, stopping at the selfie of her and a stupefied Seto Kaiba. His stupidly shocked face still made her laugh on the inside, yet she couldn't muster the nerve to audibly do so.

Then her mind fast-forwarded to the bar. The dancing. She squeezed her eyes shut at the recollection of that moment. She was more sober than Kaiba, only tipsy, yet she didn't remove herself from him. The way he looked at her seemed so...tender. He, frankly, was drunk off his ass, but a part of her at the time indulged in his solicitous gaze and his irresistible touch. The way he handled her body in sequence of the songs was unlike anybody else….

Her eyes shot wide open, shuddering at her rather poisonous thought process. She turned her phone off and sunk deeper into her chair. It was going to be a long flight.

* * *

Kisara walked through the KaibaCorp airport, of which she was still surprised the company could afford. The airport wasn't usually for passengers like herself, but for shipping. As soon as she stepped out the exit, a familiar face excitedly waved her arms.

"Kisara!" A flailing auburn-haired woman shouted as she flew into Kisara with her arms wide open.

"Serenity!" Kisara dropped her luggage to reciprocate the embrace, "I missed you! Even if it's only been a weekend, and we live with each other!"

"Haha, I missed you too," Serenity Wheeler let go of her long-time friend and continued, "C'mon! I don't mean to rush us, but Joey's sort of in trouble if we don't leave soon!"

Serenity grabbed Kisara's luggage and made a run for it, and Kisara followed despite her confusion.

"Trouble? How?" Kisara asked as she ran alongside Serenity.

"Let's just say Seto Kaiba's security measures have a special trigger when it comes to my big brother!" Serenity exclaimed nervously.

"What? Why?"

Before Serenity could explain, the two had reached Joey's car, a rather decent looking marsala red Honda CR-V. The women gasped as they Joey Wheeler being dragged out of the car by a buff bodyguard.

"Oi! Dis can't be legal-oof!" He protested as the bodyguard held him into a chokehold.

"Seto Kaiba will only tolerate your presence on this property for 10 minutes," the bodyguard said emotionlessly, "and it has been 10 minutes and 32 seconds. I have been very gracious."

"Wait!" Kisara reached out her hand and held onto the bodyguard's arm, "Please, we're going right now!"

The bodyguard looked at who talked to him and immediately let go once recognizing who she was. Joey breathed in deeply for dear life and started coughing. Serenity worriedly patted and rubbed her brother's back as he crouched down to continue taking in deep breaths and coughing.

"K-Kisara Amano?!" The bodyguard took off his black shades to one hundred percent confirm it was her, "Is that really you?!"

Kisara blinked and nervously replied, "Y-Yes, that's me!"

"I'm a huge fan of yours!" The 6'5" bodyguard, with his wide-set face, burly features, suddenly blushed and started rubbing his head, "You're very beautiful. I've seen your face in some advertisements around the city."

"Oh thank you," Kisara pushed her hair behind her ears and bowed down, "I'm so honored that you recognize me! Please continue to support me as I continue my modeling career!"

The bodyguard bit his lip as he clenched his hand around his mouth. He looked to the side, unable to withstand her cuteness. Joey stared at the spectacle, dumbfounded by how the bodyguard's personality had taken a 180 degree angle.

"W-would it be ok if I take a selfie with you?" The bodyguard shyly asked as he took out his phone and pointed at it for Kisara.

Joey's jaw dropped and he shouted, "HOW ARE YOU SO SHY AFTER LITERALLY CHOKING ME TO DEATH JUST SECONDS AGO?!" He waved his fists in fury and started walking toward the bodyguard, but Serenity held him back by wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I'd be happy to!" Kisara beamed and walked closer to the bodyguard to take the selfie. She and the bodyguard completely ignored Joey's bouts of ridicule as the two took several selfies. The bodyguard even bent down so he could be near Kisara's level.

"Thank you so much, Ms. Amano," the bodyguard bowed down and continued with the same blush, "I look forward to seeing you host this year's Battle City."

"It was a pleasure meeting you. I didn't catch a name, though. May I ask what it is?"

The bodyguard's face got redder as he answered, "It's...Sakura."

Joey snorted loudly as he was putting Kisara's bags in the trunk. Sakura overheard and scowled at the blonde, who gulped and snuck into the driver's seat, making sure to lock his door.

"Well, Sakura," Kisara clasped her hands together, still portraying her sweet smile, "I must go now. I'll remember you!"

"Bye-bye!" Sakura smiled widely as he watched her slip into the backseat of the car.

Kisara delightedly waved from inside the car as Joey pulled away. As soon as they reached the main road, Joey breathed a sigh of relief and declared, "Dat bastard Kaiba! I can't believe he still has a grudge against me after all these years!"

"Joey," Serenity nervously laughed from the passenger's seat, "I'm sure he doesn't hate you...I think it's just a joke for him."

"A JOKE?!" Joey yelled, causing Serenity and Kisara to both wince. He noticed and lowered his tone, "Sorry, sis. But I ain't takin' kindly to bein' treated as a joke!"

"I'm sorry for asking, but I don't think I ever heard the full story on why you two hate each other so much," Kisara piped in and leaned closer to the front.

"Aye, you know who I am, right Kisara?" Joey asked.

"Of course," she responded.

"And I would never hate on a person unless they hate me first, right?"

"...Right."

"Well there you have it. He hated me first! For no good reason!"

Before Kisara could inquire as to what specific reason that was, Joey continued, "I'm telling ya, guys like him are da worse! Sure he might have money...a lot of it...but dat's just compensation for his _empty soul_! There's a reason why I took da day off at work so I could make sure my lil sis wasn't bein' harassed on Kaiba property!"

"Joey, let's not talk badly about someone behind his back," Serenity nervously suggested, knowing full well the person her brother was talking badly about was going to be closer than ever.

"I swear, Serenity, if your boyfriend dat I'm gonna meet dis weekend is anythin' like Kaiba, I'm gonna put my foot down, an' whip his ass into next week!"

Serenity could only continue her nervous laughter. An awkward tension arose between the two siblings.

Kisara noticed and decided to speak up, "Oh, right! We're meeting your mystery man this Saturday! Ooh, I can't wait to meet him, Serenity! You seem so much happier these past few months that I'm sure he's an absolute gentleman." She made sure she was loud enough so Joey could also hear, but he was too busy muttering underneath his breath and shaking his head while driving.

"Yes, he definitely is!" Serenity gently smiled and continued, "But what about _your_ mystery man, Kisara? When will _I_ get to meet him?" A playful spark emerged in the woman's hazel eyes as she looked into the driver's mirror.

"You too, Kisara!" Joey interrupted and barked, "Since you're my sister's age and you've been around us for so long, I see you like my lil sis. Imma kick his ass too if he's anythin' like dat bastard!"

"Oh, don't worry, he's nothing like Kaiba," Kisara shook her head and waved both her arms as she noticed Joey too was looking at her through the driver's mirror.

"Dat's what girls say at first until someone else is around to expose him," Joey concluded as he continued shaking his head.

Kisara blinked and decided to turn back to Serenity, "We've only been dating for almost a month, Serenity. You, however, have been with your man for like three months! It's about time we know!"

"Yeh, about time," Joey nodded his head in agreement, "About time to grill dat guy, Joey Wheela' style!"

"Ok, big brother, we get it," Serenity softly joked.

Later, they arrived at Serenity and Kisara's apartment complex. It wasn't the most luxurious of complexes, clearly, as most of its tenants were undergrads at Domino University. But because it was catered to college students, rent was more gracious in comparison to actual apartments in the city. Kisara worried, however, that she would have to find a new apartment soon. Serenity was technically only a third year, but she was smart and worked hard enough to graduate a year early. She had been accepted into a medical school outside of Domino, therefore the apartment contract was going to be void. At least one college student had to live in the apartment.

Serenity and Kisara waved Joey off as he finished helping carry the luggage. Kisara breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed on the couch.

"Oh god, I think the jet lag is kicking in," she groaned and stretched out her arms and legs.

"Is it jet lag that's got you, or Seto Kaiba?" Serenity slyly smirked and sat on the same couch, playfully pushing Kisara's legs off to make room for herself.

Kisara bolted up at the mention of the brunette and started talking, "He motioned for me to sit next to him. Just like this!" She started making big motions with her hands, indicating the way how she and Serenity were seated together was like her and Kaiba, "And he just starts insulting me! Out of nowhere!"

"He wanted you to sit right next to him…" Serenity slowly repeated, "and he pushed you away like that?"

"Yes," Kisara, angered by the scene again, crossed her arms and sunk into the couch.

"Hmm…" Serenity rubbed her chin and gently smiled, "And you're saying you guys sat just like how we're seated right now?"

"Yes," Kisara shot her friend a puzzled look, "But why are you repeating my words?"

"Well...we're awfully seated close to each other right now. Normally, if you truly want to tell someone to go away, I don't think you'd want them seated right next to you when you tell them that."

Kisara observed the way she and Serenity were seated. There was about a centimeter in between the two, exactly like her and Kaiba. Her face scrunched up in confusion, realizing that Serenity had a point. However, as she replayed Saturday night's quarrel, she shook her head and said, "Even if he actually wanted me to stay put, his words said otherwise."

Serenity already listened to Kisara directly quoting Kaiba over call, so she understood how harsh his words were. She sighed in agreement and said, "I agree with that." She placed both her hands on Kisara's shoulders and forced her to view Serenity, "It's so weird seeing you like this. I've never seen you as frustrated. Not even work has gotten you this bad, haha. C'mon, cheer up! In the end, how many times are you actually going to cross paths with him?"

"You're right," Kisara's face softened and suddenly brightened, "I should start unpacking and organizing my stuff again. I also have a date with Reo tonight! Oh, I can't wait to see him, especially after this entire fiasco of a weekend!" She stood up and rushed over to her belongings.

"Are you going to tell him about everything that happened? Including your little excursions with Kaiba?" Serenity wistfully asked as she watched her roommate carry her stuff to her bedroom.

Kisara temporarily froze and felt the weight of her bags get heavier. She eventually replied a hesitant "no" as she shut her bedroom door.

Serenity frowned, honestly concerned about her best friend's choice to hide her experience with Kaiba. Kisara had told her everything in a drunken rush the night she called her, from the fight in the morning, to each place Kaiba had taken her, and the final fight. She personally didn't understand Kaiba's behavior either. He seemed extremely uncharacteristic in the way he allegedly volunteered to take Kisara around all the day, on a motorcycle no less. At least, according to Mokuba, Kaiba was a poor sport when it came to apologizing or caring to for that matter. So why did he bother to make up for the first fight with Kisara? Why did he push her away when he might not have wanted to? She had the urge to spill everything to her boyfriend and ask for his side, but she knew it would be a violation to her roommate's privacy. She grimaced and thought to herself, _Oh god, this weekend might be disastrous._

* * *

That Monday evening, Kaiba burst through one of KaibaCorp's testing room doors and rushed towards a busy-looking Yugi Muto, who was caught up in a conversation with one of the engineers for his upcoming game.

"Yugi, I want to take you up on that _dinner_ you proposed a week ago," Kaiba interrupted the rather important conversation between Yugi and the engineer, who both looked shocked by Kaiba's sudden appearance. The engineer raised his eyebrow and formed a tight-lipped smile as he slowly backed away from the two men. The entire engineering team started whispering to each other as they all eyed the two.

Yugi's left eye twitched as he noticed the engineer's sly smile and the way his team of engineers were gossiping. He looked back up at Kaiba and remarked, "You know if the rumors about us being secretly gay for each other weren't believable before, they sure as hell are now."

"Spare me the drama, Yugi," Kaiba retorted and turned his attention toward the engineering team while pointing directly at them, "You all are dismissed for today. Thank me later."

The horde of engineers rushed to pack their stuff and leave the lab.

"So what are we eating?" Yugi unenthusiastically asked as he shook his head, displeased in the fact that Kaiba had set back his game's progress.

"Burger World," Kaiba dryly answered.

* * *

"Your initial intent on dinner was to discuss the presence of Kisara Amano, correct?" Kaiba shot Yugi a question as soon as the two sat down at a booth.

"Yes...don't tell me you're actually…?" Yugi sat dumbfounded at the prospect of Kaiba's sudden interest in the white-haired woman. For the longest, Kaiba had been avoiding her existence and refused to discuss anything about her. Now, suddenly, he decided to bring her up.

A waitress came around with their burgers and soda, laying out the food, leaving. Kaiba grabbed his soda and sipped from his straw before speaking,

"Pursuing her? No. She's taken. Ah, shit," Kaiba snapped his fingers and raised an index finger, "Don't you go breathing down anyone's neck with that confidential piece of information, but I had to tell you in case you misinterpret what I'm about to say."

"Oh, I could _never_ misinterpret anything you say, Kaiba," Yugi smirked as he bit into his burger, listening intently to what the CEO had to say.

"So I vacationed with her over the weekend in Indonesia recently," Kaiba started as he reached for his own burger.

Yugi squinted at Kaiba, already feeling that his story was going to be special.

"Not out of my own intent, but I'll spare you the details about the mix-up," Kaiba continued, "Anyways, she tells me the morning of Saturday that she's had a nightmare, and she's acting strange. She's shaking all over and can barely pick up her breakfast foods without spazzing."

"Sounds like something more than a nightmare," Yugi added, "Maybe a trauma of sorts?"

"I thought about that, but she said it wasn't recurring...unlike mine," Kaiba trailed off, suddenly forgetting what more he had to say.

"Wait," Yugi stopped mid-crunch and set his burger down, "You're not telling me that you're _still_ experiencing visions?"

"Occasionally."

"That's...not normal," Yugi's eyebrows furrowed in worry, "Wait, so after all these years...after that entire Memory World experience...after _he_ left, you're _still_ having visions?"

"Yes," Kaiba irritatedly said, "What's your point, Yugi?"

"It's just when _he_ was put to rest, everything else, including your visions, should have been too," Yugi sat back and rubbed his chin, "Could it be that perhaps your story isn't truly at rest?"

"My _story_?"

"Your history with the Blue Eyes. I assumed your visions would stop after seeing, with your very own eyes, Kisara's _sacrifice_ ," Yugi softly ended his sentence, and an awkward silence befell between the two.

Kaiba was slowly chewing his atrociously artificial burger, waiting for Yugi to continue his explanation. He watched the spiky haired man play around with the straw of his soda drink and grew increasingly impatient. Before he could interrupt, Yugi continued.

"But now that I think about it...there's nothing conclusive about seeing the love of someone's life die prematurely in the arms of her her lover, especially when the lover carried the weight of an entire kingdom. Priest Seto had to immediately presume his role as the next Pharaoh...therefore that didn't leave him much to grieve for Kisara. Am I wrong?"

"How do we know they weren't just really good friends...like how you and Gardner are? The Priest and Kisara were acquaintances for the same duration that you and the geeks were there. I'd _hardly_ call that _love_ ," Kaiba quietly inquired, avoiding looking at Yugi. His eyes escaped to view the stormy weather conditions through the large glass window of the run-down Burger World diner.

"Hmm...you have a good point," Yugi took a huge bite of his burger, "Regardless if it was friendship or romantic love...there had to be a deep connection between the two. Otherwise, why would she have sacrificed her life for him?"

"Maybe she was a dumb Samaritan."

"Highly unlikely," Yugi chuckled at Kaiba's comment, "I think...because of her premature death, and the Priest's inability to appropriately mourn for her, that incompleteness transferred to their reincarnates...you and modern Kisara. Your visions and maybe now hers, are products of that unfinished essence."

Kaiba let Yugi's words lay on him for a moment. He still avoided looking into the other man's violet eyes. He could see lightning strikes in the sky. It was going to be a pain to drive back.

"She...called me by my first name," he hesitantly detailed, "I took her somewhere, and she suddenly shut down. She said my first name, and mind you, we're not on a first-name basis, before becoming suddenly fine and forgetting about her little PTSD episode."

"I'm not going to be accurate with my assumptions, Kaiba," Yugi wiped his mouth with a napkin as he finished his burger, "But I think that's a latent memory from her previous incarnate. It's a call to you. I say that you guys were granted this life to provide closure to each other."

"If closure with some woman is what my life amounts to, then that's pretty deplorable," Kaiba scoffed as he finally met Yugi's eyes. He refused to finish his own burger, as he could feel the pieces that he did consume start to make his stomach queasy. He continued, "That's like saying the point of _your_ life was helping an Egyptian ghost return to his grave through various card games just because he couldn't fix his shit in his previous life and you happened to be his reincarnate."

Yugi smiled and shrugged his shoulders while retorting, "I wouldn't say it's the _main_ point of your life to figure things out with Kisara, neither was helping Atem my only goal. But...helping him changed my life in different ways...for the better. Who knows? Maybe she will too."

"I can't tell if it's the burger or this destiny bullshit that's making my stomach feel noxious," Kaiba said as he stood up and pulled out a wad of cash from his wallet to place as tip on the table. He turned back to Yugi and concluded, "But I find your theories...sufficiently plausible, albeit illogical."

Yugi too stood up and placed some tip on the table. He was surprised Kaiba had chose to listen to his words. It was even more shocking to have the normally impervious CEO audibly give regards to his "destiny" talks. After the two finished paying at the register, they walked out into the pouring rain.

"I wish you luck, Kaiba," Yugi waved as he started heading towards his car. He shouted back, "Have a safe drive! See you this weekend!"

"Likewise," Kaiba said underneath his breath. He had no wish to be heard, as that would require him to yell back. He ran towards his car in a rush, got in, and started driving through Domino's streets.

The way back to Asagi Towers just happened to require passing by Devlin's café. In the moment Kaiba passed by, he caught a familiar white-haired woman climbing out of a car and running towards the entrance. She had her work uniform.

As he stopped due to a red light, he sat back, confounded by the fact that she still worked at the café despite the late hours. Then again, he caught her at an ungodly hour when he paid a visit that one time. He tapped his steering wheel, and his mind became enraptured by the same woman that had been bothering him.

* * *

"Damn, is that top supermodel Kisara Amano coming to work at a lowly coffee shop? How can we afford such honor?"

"You're _so_ hilarious, Sora," Kisara sarcastically responded to her co-worker as she entered the kitchen. She immediately started making drinks as orders started appearing.

"It's just funny how we have to hide you now that you're getting famous," Sora grinned as he helped around, "and how you're still working here."

"The big, fat checks haven't started coming in yet," she joked. Normally, she would've said more, but what, or rather _who_ , she caught a glimpse of outside dampened her mood. She had just arrived from her date with Reo, and her spirits were lifted. Yet, when she stepped out and saw familiar dark blue eyes in the driver's seat of a passing car looking at her, her mind completely plummeted. It didn't matter that if it was him or not. The mere thought of a particular CEO sent her into a regrettable stream of misery.

* * *

Author's Notes: I think this chapter is dialogue-heavy, so I hope it's not too confusing! Romance is going to be super-slow by the way, but when it comes, it'll hit like a truck. I just want to make more development for Seto and Kisara!

Review Responses:

 **Bleach power:** I'm glad you noticed how he plans ahead in my story and is starting to put down his wall :) Thank you for reading!

 **Zipzipper:** YES IT IS! The edelweiss thing won't pop up for a while, so you can throw that out for now :) Thanks for reading!

 **Juella:** Ahh, thank you for coming back! It's going to be a long ride with these two, haha!


	9. Chapter 8: Right Here

**A/N:** Happy New Year everyone! I'm hoping 2019 will go well! I personally don't make New Year's Resolutions, but I hope I'll continue writing. Writing Second Chances has really let off some steam from life, even if I feel like that sometimes affects my writing for the worse. Anyways, I'm realizing that my chapter lengths are getting longer, and I believe it's because I want to cram during winter break from college. I'm afraid soon that I won't have much free time to update frequently, and I sincerely apologize if the rush is obvious.

* * *

"Room number and your name?" The security guard at the main entrance of Asagi Towers asked.

Serenity peeked her head out of the window of her brother's car and said, "A1, and Serenity Wheeler!"

The security guard lowered her shades and squinted at the auburn haired woman before replying, "Are you sure that's the correct room?"

"Y-yes, I'm sure," Serenity tilted her head and nervously smiled.

"Alright then," the security guard pushed pack her shades and punched in a number. After she finished calling the room, she said, "It's a go. Welcome to Asagi Towers!"

Joey whistled as he drove through the opened gates, eyeing his surroundings, "Geez, sis...this place got its own park an' gardens an' everythin'!"

"Serenity, I feel like I might already approve of your man," Mai Valentine, who was perched in the passenger's seat, gaped at the passing scenery of lush green gardens filled with every possible flower and beautiful topiaries. Marble sculptures of various figures throughout Japanese history were placed sporadically as well, only making the way to the actual skyscraper even more luxurious. The blonde woman turned back to view Serenity and winked, "Looks like you hit the jackpot."

"It looks like he can afford your medical school tuition a thousandfold," Kisara added as she looked toward her friend and copied Mai's winking, "If you're lucky, he might actually pay for you."

Serenity, slightly uncomfortable yet amused, exclaimed, "Oh stop it, you two!"

"Yeh, stop it you guys," Joey agreed, "Ya know how rich boys are like! Empty souls!"

Joey pulled to the front of the main tower and handed his keys to the required valet. As the four walked into the lobby, Joey only kept shaking his head as Mai and Kisara obsessed over the interior.

"Is this…" Mai rubbed one of the lobby's couches as she motioned toward Kisara, who ran toward where she was and rubbed the couch as well.

"Kevlar fabric?!" The two squealed in unison, attracting a good bit of others in the lobby.

Joey smacked his forehead, and Serenity laughed at her two friends' odd interests. It took a good bit of time for the four to get to the front desk, as Mai and Kisara continued their little investigations of the furniture. Once they did, Serenity asked the front desk lady, "Hello, we would like to be given entry into the A1 Suite. The name is Serenity Wheeler."

The lady typed a bunch of stuff into her computer before nodding her head and verifying, "Alright. Follow me."

"Geez, you're tellin' me dis guy doesn't use normal elevators or somethin'?" Joey's head shaking only got more intense as the four followed the front desk lady. The lady used a card to gain entry into a separate room. She motioned for the four to enter.

"This elevator only goes to the top. Have a good visit," she smiled and walked away.

"A PENTHOUSE?!" Joey, Mai, and Kisara blurted simultaneously at Serenity once the woman left, with Joey's tone more disdainful and the two women more excited.

Serenity only scratched her head as she pressed the elevator button.

"Guys...it's really no big deal," she gently said as everyone entered the elevator.

"No big deal...damn, Serenity, your dates must be extravagant if you don't consider this a big deal," Mai teased her friend as she wrapped one arm around her.

"Remember me to invite him to _my_ birthday party," Kisara mirrored Mai's movement on the other side.

"You guys are the worst," Serenity giggled from her girlfriends' jokes and her brother's constant muttering on the side.

Once they reached the top floor, Joey made a beeline for the giant door at the end of the hallway, and Serenity ran after him shouting, "Joey, be polite!"

On the other hand, Kisara and Mai stayed behind admiring every speck of the outrageously opulent hallway, from its intricate Persian rug to the various paintings hung on the walls.

Serenity hit the call-in button. The resident could peer at visitors via digital screening. She smiled at the camera and sweetly said, "I'm heeeere!"

Joey moved his face near the screen as well, adding, "So's her brother!"

After a couple of seconds, the door started to click. As soon as a figure appeared, Joey immediately, without paying much attention to who it was, grabbed for the person's right hand and started shaking it vigorously.

"First and foremost, I'm Joey Wheeler! Now, it's gonna take more than your money to convince me that you're good for my sista…uh," as the blonde lifted his dark brown eyes to stare into very familiar, cold blue ones, he started to stutter, "K-K-KAIBA?!" His hand instantly disclaimed contact with the other man's hand, acting as if he had just grazed fire.

Normally, the blonde man would have waited for Kaiba's less than friendly response, but as he turned his head to look at his sister, he felt as if someone had shot an arrow into his stomach. His sister had on a pair of nice beige wedges, a red floral dress, and worst of all, a smile on her face. The way she endearingly eyed Joey's longest foe crept underneath his skin. To think that all this time, his innocent little sister had dressed up for dates with the ever so manipulative Seto Kaiba. Enraged, he used both of his hands to aggressively snatch the collar of Kaiba's neat navy blue polo shirt, pulling the dangerously calm man down to his eye-level.

Furious coffee colored eyes bore into undaunted azure ones as Joey aggressively voiced in a low growl, "Don't you go around usin' _my_ sister…"

Kaiba maintained his silent, unabashed manner. In order to spite the blonde, he shifted his eyes to view Serenity, who was visually frightened by her brother's sudden action as she clamped both hands against her mouth while her eyes widened toward her brother. He planned to give his trademark smirk and return a roguish gaze toward Joey, but what caught his eye as he looked away impeded his little plot. Past the auburn hair was a head of ivory. That mass of milky white hair sat atop of an equally disturbed looking woman, whose recognizable baby blue eyes ogled. While Serenity and who he assumed to be Mai stared at Joey, that woman linearly peered into his eyes. He felt himself audibly swallow a stream of saliva down his throat, suddenly lacking moisture in his mouth.

"Yeh, you better be gulping when I'm through with you, look at me!" Joey assertively tugged down on Kaiba's collar. The yanking caused the brunette to face him directly. This time, Kaiba would not be played around with. Before he could appropriately respond, a nervous voice appeared behind him.

"Wrong Kaiba, Joey," Mokuba popped next to Kaiba's side, wrapping his hand around Joey's arm. Mai had done the same to Joey's other arm. Both forced the blonde man to recant his pugnacious hold. "I hope you're not too disappointed," he weakly jested as he let go.

"Y-yes, Joey," Serenity spoke up and slipped her delicate hand through Mokuba's as she faced her brother, "It's been Mokuba all this time."

"Oh thank god," Joey breathlessly said as he started hugging Mai and burying his face into her shoulder. The blonde woman patted his back, slightly rolling her eyes at his overwhelmingly emotional state.

"So are we getting this party started or what?" Mai announced as she raised a hand that held a carton of good old Sapporo beer while still keeping the other on Joey's back.

"Of course!" Mokuba chuckled and motioned for everyone to enter the apartment.

Serenity was the first to traipse into her boyfriend's less than humble home, with Mai following while dragging a defeated Joey.

Kaiba stood leaning against the door, his eyes glued on Kisara's passing figure. As focused as he was on her, she purposefully averted his gaze.

"Ah, Kisara Amano, right?" Mokuba outstretched an inviting hand toward the woman with a warm smile on his face once she stepped foot into his home.

"Mm!" Kisara returned his cordial gesture and replied, "And you must be Mokuba Kaiba. I've been informed that I'd be working with you during Battle City, but there's been terrible schedule conflicts. It's nice to finally meet you!"

The two walked together toward the kitchen, where everyone had begun to gather. Kaiba closed the door and silently followed them, listening to their short conversation about the hilarity of meeting each other underneath current circumstances.

"I was so shocked to hear my girlfriend's roommate is my future coworker," Mokuba chuckled as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Not as shocked as I am," Joey, who had released himself from Mai and was crouching lowly on one of the kitchen barstools, muttered.

"Why are you shocked, Joey?" Yugi, who had been the first to arrive, cocked his head while seated on the adjacent stool.

"Yugi, dis entire celebration was like a meet-da-boyfriend thing for my little sister. Me and Mai are practically her guardians and Kisara's her best friend-slash-roommate…." Joey felt like he was rambling but suddenly came across a peculiarity. He shifted his head to Yugi and asked, "Hold on, why are _you_ here? Not to be mean but I don't think you care about either Serenity or Mokuba's relationship."

Yugi raised an eyebrow and scanned the room for each visitor. He suddenly felt like an outcast as he realized they were all there to interrogate each other. He replied, "I was told that this was a belated birthday celebration for Mokuba."

"It is," Mokuba nervously laughed, "I only told you that because I had to keep my identity a secret for the others. It's kind of complicated now that I think about it."

"Tristan and Téa would've been told that it was a simple birthday celebration for Mokuba as well, but seeing as they're not even in Japan…." Serenity wistfully mentioned. The idea of the two missing friends fell heavily on the room like a thick mist of nostalgia.

"So, Serenity," Kaiba spoke up as he started rubbing the carton of Sapporo beer that Mai had placed on the counter. He wrinkled his nose at the touch of cheap alcohol while knowing full well he had a wine cooler filled with higher class alternatives. "Tell me, how competent are you in life in comparison to your deadbeat brother?"

"Seto…" Mokuba warned in a displeased tone. He had hoped his brother would have held back his cynicism.

Kisara, like Yugi, felt out of place as well. Although she was Serenity's best friend, she felt as if she had no value in the space. The atmosphere had transitioned into a tense, anxious state. While a heated conversation was starting to brew between the Kaibas and Wheelers, including Mai, she walked over to Yugi and gently tapped on his shoulder.

"Yugi," she whispered, "It's been so long since I've seen you. I'd love to catch up, and I've got some questions about Duel Monsters that I'm hoping you could help me with."

"Sure thing, Kisara," Yugi flashed her a grateful smile as he nodded in agreement, "Let's get out of here."

The two successfully slipped out of the kitchen. It wasn't difficult to remove themselves from the intense conversation exchanged between the remaining members of the party.

"I'll let you know, Kaiba," Joey voiced the brunette's name in utter contempt, "I might not earn as much as you do, but I got a fulfilling job. Did the whole college thing and found my calling as a social worker, so don't you dare call me a fuckin' deadbeat."

Serenity cleared her throat. Seeing as Kaiba had addressed her as well, she spoke up in a gentle manner, "I'm planning to study medicine. I'll be going to Tokyo's Graduate School of Medicine in the fall. My brother and I, we both want to heal people in different ways. I guess it's a sibling thing...I experienced a good chunk of my life in hospitals, and Joey has had the harder end of our parents' divorce. We ended up pursuing interests that made our life hard in order to help others...improving the system you might say."

The auburn lady could feel her eyes start to moisten. She had said more than she had initially cared to reveal, but having Kaiba insult her brother like that urged her to include a defense on his account. Recalling her and Joey's struggles suddenly hit her heart with a pang, and Kaiba's overbearing question did nothing to aid her.

Mai sidled up to Serenity in order to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. The older woman gave a hard look at Kaiba and said, "I understand this is a meet-and-greet the families affair, but we're all here for good fun. We gotta give the young couple a chance and what good of a chance is it to have them tense all the time."

Kaiba ignored Mokuba's calculating glare as he emotionlessly replied, "I suppose it's reassuring to know all the brains in the Wheeler family made it across to the one my brother is dating."

Mokuba chewed anxiously on the cheeks of his mouth. He felt dejected that his brother couldn't offer an apology or a less roguish response. However, it was the best he could get. Although Joey had the best intentions in being a social worker, Mokuba understood Kaiba's continued disrespect for the blonde man. The brothers had their fair share of social workers in their childhood, and Mokuba could still remember the stress that they had caused his older brother. The adults would throw around fancy words and fake pity, and a young Kaiba had to speak for himself and vouch for Mokuba. In general, Kaiba's poor experiences with multiple social workers defined the little respect and care he had for them.

"Let's eat, shall we?" Mokuba put on his best smile as he went over towards multiple grocery bags as he announced, "I bought a whole truckload of the best fried chicken in Domino!" He started fishing out cartons of the food and placing them on the counter.

"Alright!" Joey enthusiastically fist-bumped the air at the gorgeous sight and mouth-watering smell of the fried chicken. He quickly calmed down and mentioned to Mokuba, "I mean...this doesn't mean you can get past me, kid. I'm still watching you!"

Mokuba only continued grinning as he slid a plate across to Joey while joking, "The only way to Joey Wheeler's heart is through his mouth, am I right?"

"Haha, good one," Joey admitted as he caught the plate and instantly rushed over to grab his fried chicken.

"Don't forget the beer!" Mai eagerly chirped as she started tearing cartons of the alcohol. She busted out each bottle and offered one to each person in the kitchen, with only Kaiba rejecting her gift.

"C'mon Kaiba, you've got to lighten up," Mai insisted as she shoved the bottle further into Kaiba's face.

Kaiba simply held up his hand to push back the drink and sternly said, "My house isn't safe if all of us are drunk."

"Suit yourself," Mai shrugged as she popped her own bottle.

"Everyone, we can all eat in the living room since there's not enough space here!" Mokuba declared as he motioned for everyone to follow with their plates of fried chicken and beers in hand.

Kaiba stayed behind, unwilling to budge from his position. Although he had promised Mokuba that he would be present, there was no mentioning of an appropriate distance from the group. He tapped his thumb against the cap of a Sapporo beer. Truth be told, he leaned toward drinking his thoughts away for the night, however, the beer was too cheap and he had no energy to walk a couple feet to reach for the wine cooler. His eyes lifted toward the sound of people stepping into the kitchen.

Yugi and Kisara had arrived to claim their ownership over their rightful fried chicken and beer. The spiky haired man waved a hand to Kaiba whereas the white haired woman continually avoided his gaze.

As Yugi was getting a plate and opening a box of fried chicken, he glanced over to Kisara and asked, "I'll get yours, Kisara. How many pieces would you like and what type?"

"I think I'll just drink tonight," Kisara politely smiled and waved her hand.

Both Yugi and Kaiba raised their eyebrows, although the former did so more obviously and formed a look of concern rather than curiosity as the latter did.

"Are you sure?" Yugi asked as he grabbed chicken for himself, "This chicken is no joke!"

"I'm sure!" She replied as she opened her Sapporo bottle and patted her belly, "Don't worry, Yugi, I had a big dinner beforehand with a friend. I only have room for beer!"

"Hmm, alright," Yugi conceded. His violet eyes drifted from a drinking Kisara to a silent Kaiba, who was perched on a bar stool keeping to himself and his mobile device. He spoke up, "You know, Kaiba, I was just helping Kisara clear some information about Duel Monsters just now."

Kaiba nearly shut his eyes in retaliation as he heard Yugi address him. _Yes, I heard_ is what he wanted to say. During the little session with the other four, he could hear Yugi and Kisara bonding loudly over the game from the living room. He had felt oddly agitated every time he heard the woman crack up at Yugi's cringe-worthy, poorly-constructed Duel Monsters puns. He was also the only one who had noticed the two slip out the kitchen. He decided to slowly nod his head as an answer, hoping that served as a sufficient response that would bore the two away.

"Kaiba is an accomplished duelist himself, Kisara. Did you know that?" Yugi flawlessly continued probing questions. Kaiba inwardly grimaced as be noticed what Yugi was trying to do. It was so annoyingly characteristic of that man to try and build a bridge between people, even if the people would rather maintain the chasm between them.

"I had no idea. That's great," Kisara tried her hardest to sound amazed, but bore no disappointment in revealing the tiniest bit of apathy while giving her full attention to Yugi. Kaiba felt his stomach sink in response to her lukewarm response. He knew fully well she had knowledge of his dueling records. She admitted to studying some of his duels as further research of dueling, but he suspected she lied by offering a neutral response as an attempt to stump Yugi.

But Yugi didn't stop despite the growingly awkward tension in the space. He took a step back and hurriedly said, "Well, you gotta get more than one side to Duel Monsters! You won't learn anything if you learn from one person!" Thus, he bolted straight out the kitchen to join the others.

"Y-Yugi-," Kisara outstretched her hand as if to magically pluck the devious King of Games back into the eventual awkwardness that ensued between her and the one other. She started pacing toward the living room, yet she stopped when she heard Kaiba's voice.

"You're a terrible liar."

Kisara slowly turned back her head to catch Kaiba lift his eyes from his phone screen to latch onto hers. They looked as about as lifeless as hers. She pursed her lips and cooly replied, "Excuse me?"

"You were salivating at the bags of fried chicken even before they were unwrapped," Kaiba dispassionately continued, "Even the mutt didn't sniff it out before you."

"How kind of you to notice me in such detail," she sarcastically said before continuing, "But I really am full."

He ignored her assertions and said, "There's leftover sushi in the fridge you can have."

"I said I was fine."

Kaiba abruptly stood up from his seat and ambled to the fridge, duly whipping out a plastic container of widely assorted sushi rolls. He grabbed two chopsticks from a drawer and firmly slapped the container onto the island bar. He tossed one chopstick in the direction of Kisara as he removed his own from its plastic wrapping with his teeth on the other hand.

"I don't feel like eating chicken, either," he bluntly stated as he started to pick his own rolls.

The woman cautiously neared the counter, pulling out her chopsticks. She figured she should just take one out of politeness. As she was prodding around each sushi, he started talking again.

"Starving yourself isn't going to help your modeling career."

"Who said I was starving myself?" Kisara quickly shot back as she nibbled on a sushi roll. Her stomach was practically begging her to swallow the piece whole.

"Your neckline shouldn't be sticking out so much like that."

"The industry likes it when bones stick out," she returned, suddenly having the urge to feel her protruding collar bones.

Kaiba put down his chopsticks to glance at the still-standing woman for her rather disturbing comment. He noticed after eating his three rolls, she had only finished nibbling on one. She seemed to be putting in a lot of effort to ignore him by appearing entranced by her sushi roll. He tore his gaze away and picked up his chopsticks once again.

"You're enough," he muttered underneath his breath as he took one roll.

"I'm sorry?" Kisara stopped her chopstick from grabbing another roll as she believed herself to have misheard the man.

"I _said_ ," he breathed in a sigh before more audibly pronouncing, "You're enough."

He continued chewing on his food while Kisara blankly stared at him. He seemed to have told her that without a trace of regret. Frankly, she had absolutely no clue what he meant by, but at least it wasn't an insult. She shook her head and continued on picking sushi rolls. The two ate in silence, with Kisara eventually settled down in the seat two down from Kaiba.

Kaiba found himself poking his chopstick at an empty container. He looked over to Kisara and was able to see her finally chewing her sushi roll normally. He realized she ended up eating more than him, and that made him reassured. The smallest, tightest smile started to form in the corner of his lips.

"What?" Mid-bite, Kisara noticed the peculiar smile in the corner of her eye, and no smile from his could make her comfortable.

"You just remind me of someone," Kaiba wistfully said as his smile dropped a degree.

She finished her entire roll and questioningly peered at him.

He stopped smiling and grabbed for the empty sushi container, motioning her to hand her chopsticks. He shared while disposing the container, "She starved herself for her career too, to the point she had to be hospitalized. If you're going to do the whole losing weight thing, be healthy about it and have people close to you know about it so they can monitor you. I doubt you can afford those hospital bills. Your boyfriend won't be able to help with his income either."

Kisara chuckled at his last few sentences. She rubbed her neck as she let his words sink in. _She_. He started mentioning about a she. Could this mean he was opening up a bit? To test him, she tossed a question.

"Did _you_ pay for her hospital bills?"

"No way in hell could she," he answered, "When she was finally able to swallow food normally, she was as greedy as you were a couple minutes ago with the sushi."

Kisara felt her cheeks blush in embarrassment. He actually noticed she had snuck more pieces that he had. Before she could ask him further questions, the others rushed into the kitchen with their empty plates.

"You guys, we're about to Smash so you better join us!" Mokuba cheerfully announced.

"I think they got the wrong idea," Serenity laughed as she noticed both Kaiba and Kisara's perplexed and disgusted faces.

"Super Smash Bros, guys!" Joey excitedly said as he rushed to place his plate into the sink. He raised a fist toward Kaiba and Kisara and declared, "I need more players to Smash!"

"But I'm terrible at Smashing," Kisara whined as she got off of her chair and crossed her arms. Still, she was grinning from ear to ear, happy that the atmosphere had finally lightened up.

"Which is why I need you to Smash. Easy wins," Joey chortled as he stuck out his tongue toward the white haired woman.

Kaiba observed the two. They seemed to have a sibling-like relationship from the way they playfully argued. Go figure. Joey's sister's best friend would naturally be treated as his own little sister.

"Don't get a big head, Joey, I've Smashed your butt more than once," Serenity confidently teased her brother as she flipped her hair, "I think we know who's best at Smashing."

"Hey, Serenity, I love you, but I'm not going to show much love when we're Smashing," Mokuba playfully smirked as he laid a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder.

"Being the eldest, I think I'm the most experienced Smasher," Mai piped in as she wrapped one arm around Joey's neck and started mock-strangling him.

"I think being King of Games equates to being King of Smashing, don't you guys think?" Yugi spoke up and pointed towards a wincing Kaiba, "I've Smashed Kaiba the hardest in Duel Monsters."

"Alright," Kaiba eyes flickered and his mouth eerily opened to display a full grin of teeth as he smacked the counter, "Looks like I'm going to have to Smash everyone tonight."

"Let's Smash!" Mokuba vehemently shouted.

* * *

To say the party was competitive was a poor description of the cacophony of belligerent howls, defeated sighs, and victorious bellows. The entire group huddled together in front of the Kaiba's ridiculously large television screen. For the entire duration of Smash Bros, temporary enemies were made between each other, but more concrete buds of friendship began to bloom. Empty bottles of beer were littered carelessly and full ones were cracked in between gaming sessions. The growing inebriation fueled more aggressive gaming behaviors.

"Mokuba you can't just keep spamming attacks on me like that!" Serenity shrieked as she jammed the controller harder than necessary when continually blocking Mokuba's Link with her Sheik. She elbowed her boyfriend next to her, who recoiled at his normally gentle girlfriend's hostile action.

"Whoa, Serenity!" Mokuba's eyes widened but he could only smugly smile and argue, "Not my fault you don't know how to use your block sparingly!"

"This ain't it, Mai," Joey grimaced as he continually kept dodging his Kirby from Mai's Princess Peach, inching ever so closely toward the screen as his knees and elbows touched the floor.

"Revenge for last game, sucka," Mai gleefully sang as she physically kicked Joey's butt with her foot, causing him to further propel toward the TV.

"MUTT, GET YOUR BLONDE FUR DOWN FROM THE SCREEN, GODDAMMIT!" Kaiba screamed, totally willing to launch his controller at the other man's head if it didn't risk precious time.

"JOEY!" Kisara menacingly yelled and bolted over to the blonde man. Without lifting a finger off of her controller, she used both her elbows to pressure Joey's body to lower, but doing so caused her to be the one to block the screen.

"KISARA!" Yugi screeched and hurried over to the two. Like how Kisara didn't let go of her controller, he did the same. However, he lowered the hole formed by his arms and controller to pass from Kisara's head to her waist, trying his best to pull her back while continually playing.

"YUGI, YOUR FUCKING MAPLE LEAF HAIR ISN'T ANY BETTER THAN-" Kaiba suddenly stopped all motion as he saw the tri-colored man tightly embrace Kisara's waist. Although Yugi had absolutely zero romantic intention and did so solely to remove her from the screen, Kaiba couldn't help but feel his heart unexpectedly palpitate as he saw the folds of Kisara's plain pink shirt crease from the pressure of Yugi's arms. He tossed his controller into a random direction and dashed toward the three-person dogpile.

"Get your hands off of her," Kaiba lowly growled into Yugi's ear as he forced the other man to unwrap his arms around Kisara's waist.

"K-Kaiba!" Yugi dumbfoundedly felt his hands lose contact with his controller as he was forced to break his embrace. Kaiba's force was powerful enough to send both Yugi and himself flying onto the floor, with Yugi landing squarely on top of the CEO.

"Alright!" Kisara and Joey simultaneously cheered and walked back from the screen once their characters defeated Kaiba's Samus and Yugi's Zelda.

"Now get off of _me_ ," Kaiba glumly instructed as he started pushing the other man off of himself.

"Ok, ok geez," Yugi, equally upset at his loss, removed himself. Once the two properly sat to watch the others, he quickly displayed a goofy smile and asked Kaiba, "Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

Yugi cupped his hand on Kaiba's ear and mockingly whispered, "gEt YouR HanDs OFf oF hER."

"That wasn't a question," Kaiba scowled as Yugi only laughed intensely while gripping onto his stomach.

"Serenity?!" Joey gaped at his little sister's Sheik delivering a final blow to his Kirby. He shakily looked at his little sister, who didn't even bother to bat an eyelash into his direction.

"Student always beats the master," Serenity smugly said.

"What the fuck!" is what both Kisara and Mai groaned as their characters happened to lose their lives at the same time. Kisara's Donkey Kong had successfully triumphed over Princess Peach, but her character had completely veered off the map.

"Guess it's just the two of us," Mokuba said to Serenity.

"I'm not letting you off so easily, birthday boy," Serenity insisted.

As the two dueled for victory, the others started rallying for sides. The girls ended up supporting Serenity and the guys for Mokuba, even Joey, who still couldn't recover from his sister's betrayal. The remaining competitors fought with a flurry of fingers on the controller. Each clicking and clacking was accompanied by a dissonance of adrenaline-fueled cheers and hollers from their spectators, who all at one point started anxiously pulling at the ends of their hair. In time, a victor emerged.

" **FUCK YEAH!** " Serenity dropped her controller and jolted straight up while fist-bumping the air. Mai and Kisara accompanied her thunderous roar and formed a circle around their friend.

The three men fell against the couch, dejected that their representative had lost.

"Sorry, you guys," Mokuba scratched his head and chuckled at the sight of the other three men slouching. It was especially beautiful to see his brother willing sit near the other two.

"It's fine," Yugi muttered.

"You're no longer worthy of the Kaiba name," Kaiba sourly added.

"I taught her everything, so her win is my win too," Joey insisted as he crossed his arms and nodded his head.

"You were cheering for me," Mokuba pointed out.

"Shut up, Mokuba," Joey quipped.

"How ya feelin' after I whooped yo ass, babe?" Serenity mocked her boyfriend as her speech started to mimic her brother's accent. Her scarlet red face was a result of all the alcohol she had, and her speech was starting to be affected. Everyone else in the room noticed the shift in voice and tone, and they all were shocked.

Mokuba stood up and cupped her delicate face with his hands. He proudly said, "I'm feeling like I'm in love."

"Oh my fucking god," Kaiba moaned and covered his face with one hand. It appeared that his little brother was anything but subtle when it came to displaying his relationship. The girls and Yugi only snorted at the cheesy line while Joey ran toward the couple and broke them up before anything else could happen.

"Oh shoot!" Yugi exclaimed as he peered at his wristwatch. "I have to go now! I promised Grandpa I wouldn't be out too late."

"You might not look fully grown...but you're fully grown," Kaiba commented as he looked to his side to view Yugi.

"He's getting old, you know," Yugi softly replied as he reached for his jacket.

"Do you think you can stay for a picture with the cake?" Kisara, who had silently scurried to the kitchen and lit the cake by herself, approached the living room and set it on the coffee table.

"There's a cake?" Mokuba's face lit up as he saw the chocolate cake Kisara had brought over. It was delectable for the eyes, and he could feel his mouth start to water. Two candles in the shape of a 2 and 0 were lit.

"Of course! C'mon everyone!" Kisara announced as she whipped out her phone. Everyone else who wasn't seated hurried up to huddle on the big couch that Kaiba and Yugi were already on. Kisara set her phone against the television and set up a timer. She raced back to claim a spot on the couch.

"Scoot over," Kisara hurriedly ushered to Kaiba, who had kept his distance from the rest of group. He reluctantly complied and closed the distance between himself and Yugi. As he was crossing his arms and staring blankly into the camera, he could feel the adjacent woman lean closer to him as her shoulder grazed his. He caught a whiff of what he suspected to be peach and rose. It was subtle yet fragrant.

"Smile," Kisara whispered through clenched teeth as she put on a full grin.

At the last second of the timer, Kaiba softly curled his lips upwards, forming the faintest of tight-lipped smiles.

The camera clicked at zero.

Kisara took off from the couch and grabbed her phone to view the photo. Everyone else but Kaiba stood up and rushed over, curious as to how it appeared.

"Whoa," Mokuba peered over Kisara's shoulder and used his own fingers to zoom in on the photo, "Is Seto smiling or am I really drunk off my ass?"

"Das' just creepy," Joey recoiled from the smiling photo of Kaiba as he shook his head while placing both his hands on his waist.

"I think he looks cute...in a weird way," Kisara giggled as she looked over to Kaiba, who could only roll his eyes.

"Well, I'm going to head out now!" Yugi announced as he got up and waved, "Even though it was this past Tuesday, happy birthday Mokuba!"

"Thanks, Yugi! Drive safely!" Mokuba replied as he walked Yugi out the door.

"Don't worry, I think I was the only sober one," Yugi joked as he headed off.

* * *

Afterwards, Mokuba blew out the candles, made his wish, and the cake was cut. Once everyone had their own piece, Mokuba asked out loud, "So who's drunk?"

Everyone but Kaiba had another bottle in hand.

"So I guess I'm driving?" Mokuba nervously asked.

"I saw you drink, Mokuba. I will not allow you to drive knowing that," Kaiba firmly asserted.

"It was barely anything. I can think clearly," Mokuba argued as he pointed to everyone else who had pretty red faces.

"You don't get red while you're drunk," Kaiba returned, "I'm not risking anything."

"Then are _you_ driving them?"

Kaiba shot the rest a dirty glare as he realized that they hadn't assigned a designated driver.

"We can phone a taxi," Kaiba offered as he started to grab for his phone.

"It's late, and there's three pretty women."

"They have a guard dog."

"Does he look like he can fight right now?" Mokuba motioned over to Joey, whose face nearly fell flat against his cake piece from his drunken state. He pleaded, "Seto, please? I trust you to get them home safely. I don't want some stranger handling them. I can drive Joey's car tomorrow."

"...Fine. Happy birthday."

* * *

Kaiba only had one hand on the wheel while he used his other to cushion his leaning head, disheartened by the turn of events. If he was told the day before that he would be designated driver for four drunkards, he would've sooner shot himself.

"Serenity…" Joey drawled from the back, "I don't think we learned anythin' about you and Mokuba. I dunno what to feel about him."

"Joey's right," Mai added, "We still don't know how you guys met and everything."

"Dat was da point," Serenity continued drunk speaking in Joey's accent, "He wanted to finally reveal that he was my boyfriend, but he didn't want things to be so serious. Das why he put out da fried chicken and Smash - Joey's weaknesses. He was butterin' you guys up."

"Dat sly bastard," Joey muttered but had a small smile on his face. He looked over to the passenger seat of the car, noticing a mass of white hair leaning against the window. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder.

"Kisara, Kisara, Kisara, Kisara…." Joey started to chant as he moved his hand back and forth. The woman twitched and moaned as she tried to brush off the blonde's hand.

"Wheeler, could you shut up?" Kaiba painfully groaned as he felt himself wanting to change lanes and collide with opposite traffic.

"Hey...Kisara," Joey ignored Kaiba's plea. The driver's voice gave him a most brilliant idea.

"What?" Kisara raised her head and swung towards the back. She faced Joey with closed eyes.

"Did you know…" Joey giggled mischievously midway, "Dat you and Kaiba knew each other in a past life?"

"A _what_ now?" Kisara asked, barely registering Joey's words. One blue eye peeked open.

Kaiba's head immediately straightened, and his other hand joined his other on the steering wheel. His eyes widened in absolute panic as he realized what Joey had just blurted out into the open. _That mutt needs a muzzle!_ his mind screamed.

"Yeh, you guys liked - FUCKING…." Joey yelped as he felt his body jerk forward and his chest felt the smack of his seat belt. He breathed out, "...hell."

Kaiba had abruptly pulled into an alleyway and came to a complete stop. He glared back and brazenly warned, "Not another word if you all want to get home in one piece."

All was silent.

* * *

Kaiba pulled up into the parking lot of Serenity and Kisara's apartment complex after dropping off Joey and Mai. The close proximity to Domino University forced him to recall memories of college. They were as paltry as high school ones. He remembered being more involved with KaibaCorp business than actual college. Working toward a business and computer science degree was just an extra layer of reassurance for prospective business partners. Nothing good came from that place.

"Ok, time to go, Kisara," Serenity languidly murmured as she exited the car. Kisara was dead asleep, once again stationing her head against the window.

"Amano, wake up," Kaiba impatiently urged. He looked over toward her sleeping figure. He reached out to prod at her arm. When he barely scraped the surface of her skin, the passenger door flew open, courtesy of Serenity.

As soon as he noticed her body start to spill out the car, he leaned forward and instantly used his left hand to tightly latch onto her arm and hurriedly pull her into him. His other arm supported her back as her face landed onto his neck. He froze.

Warm puffs of air from her nose gently hit his neck. That previously subtle scent of peach and rose drove him mad as it became ever so stronger. Even worse was the sensation of what he dearly hoped wasn't her lips. Her soft, ample lips-

"Amano!" He bellowed as he roughly jerked her body away from his, making sure to still hold onto her body. The way her flesh molded through his left hand felt nice.

She stirred. Her eyelids slowly fluttered half-way open, listlessly drowning into Kaiba's widened ones. Her mouth parted to softly spill words.

"Where are you?" Her voice faltered, as if she was about to break down into tears at any moment. Her crystalline blue eyes started to glisten as clear fluid erupted from her reddening tear ducts. Her hand gently embraced the wrist of his hand that gripped onto her arm. As a tear slipped from one of her eyes, Kaiba broke free of her hand in order to wipe her tears away with his thumb. The thin skin of her under eye area felt so delicate that he was afraid he would hurt her. His palm supported the underside of her jaw as the rest of his fingers brushed her hair behind her ear.

What were only a couple of tears gave away to a broken dam of liquid leaking from her eyes. Kaiba brought his right hand to hold the other side of her face. He brought her face closer to his, letting her panicked breaths hit against his own face.

"I'm right here," he solemnly professed.

She only shut her eyes in an attempt to will herself to stop, but her tears only burst out. She started pulling herself back, and he found himself fighting her force.

"Aight, das enough. We out dis bitch, bitch," Serenity drunkenly slurred as she leaned inside the car and started to tug on her delirious friend.

Kaiba watched and felt her flow out his hands. Her eyes continued to stare back into his until Serenity forced her out the car and into her arms. As Serenity shut the door, he returned properly to his seat and adjusted the collar of his shirt. There were only a couple of times in Seto Kaiba's adulthood that he felt so asphyxiated, and this moment was one of them. Both his hands were on his steering wheel, but he couldn't seem to drive away. He looked up to see the two figures of the women eventually disappear. He watched that silver hair dissipate into nothingness.

A sense of incompleteness started to burn in his stomach, and he genuinely wished she didn't have to leave. He needed answers. There had to be more to his visions and her bizarre breakdowns. Despite the growingly apparent presence of that woman in his recent life, his minor interest was glaringly inconsequential to his other responsibilities and was completely opposite to his initial denial. Yet, at that moment, he thought to himself that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to give in.

But then that same spirit of uncertainty and the fear of it started manifesting again. Perhaps the reasoning behind her manic episodes was a result of him being near her. Her visions only started last weekend, where he shared the same house with her. Maybe it was a glaringly obvious sign to stay away.

" _I wouldn't say it's the main point of your life to figure things out with Kisara, neither was helping Atem my only goal. But...helping him changed my life in different ways...for the better. Who knows? Maybe she will too."_

Yugi's words from Burger World swiftly resounded into his mind, instilling some encouragement. That's right. She called for him. That was a sign for him to get closer, but did he really want to affect her health based on previous incidents?

He slammed his head against the steering wheel, hellbent between his faith and doubts.

* * *

"Why's your forehead so red, Seto?" Mokuba curiously eyed his brother, who had just returned.

"Shut up, Mokuba."

* * *

 **A/N:** This small birthday party was a distractor! It was a method of Mokuba's to show his brother and Joey that they could exist within the same room for more than a couple of seconds ^_^ I promise that the grit of the problem with Mokuba and Serenity being together, through both Kaiba and Joey's eyes, will be fleshed out in later chapters.

I have an impending question. I'm really leaning towards replacing "Kaiba" with "Seto." I would like to know opinions. I now realize it might be weird to continue using his last name instead of first, but I've kept it for so long for the sake of continuity. Would it be more comfortable to use "Seto" when referring to Kaiba? Does it matter?

Also, I'm really paranoid about my writing so far. I would love some pointers!

 **Review Response:**

 **Bleach power:** I'm saving more of the yelling between Kaiba and Joey for later chapters ^^ Haha, yes! I also will be exploring Yugi and Kaiba's eventual "bromance," which could mistakenly be interpreted as homoerotic by surrounding characters in the future ;)


	10. Chapter 9: Strangers

"...and then I told her...no wonder you contracted _Harpies_ ," Yugi chortled with one of his assistants the following Friday once he reached his office door. His assistant, who was a rather cute, petite woman politely laughed alongside her boss as he opened his door to start off the day. Once he turned the light switch on, his personal swivel chair suddenly swung around to reveal a calculating, undaunting figure.

"AJIGAWRO!" Yugi spewed gibberish at the sudden appearance of the intruder. His coffee sloshed out of its container from his sudden movement, causing the hot liquid to splatter across his own, crisp white dress shirt. His assistant screamed in fear, and her horrified screech attracted the attention of several workers from the hallway. Several others rushed to see what the spectacle was about, and they too were terrified by the intruder.

"Good morning, Yugi," Kaiba calmly greeted from Yugi's cushioned chair as he was casually scrolling through a tablet. Without looking up, he snidely added, "Your ATEM-pts at flirting are atrocious."

"Can I _help_ you?" A bewildered and embarrassed Yugi asked as he stepped toward his own desk. The others stood at the door, curious as to what was about to unfold. It was highly abnormal to find their CEO spawn at a worker's office unless he _really_ had it in for someone. They all held their breaths for Seto Kaiba's response. Could Yugi Muto face unemployment?

"Yes, actually," Kaiba answered as he lifted his eyes from his tablet and shot a dirty glare toward his spectators. He continued, "I need to discuss _private_ matters that are best dealt _privately_. Anyone who disagrees can turn in their resignation letters."

The other office workers shuddered, but several whispers were exchanged. Yugi's assistant was the one to shut the door, and her face was one of pure amusement. Yugi saw her expression, and his fears from Kaiba's last intrusion into his work space suddenly overcame him.

"I can see your shadows underneath the door!" Kaiba barked toward the closed door, and a rushing sound of feet immediately dispersed.

Yugi sighed and sat in the seat in front of his very own desk. He coldly stared at the unaware Kaiba and groaned, "When you put it that way, everyone gets the wrong idea about us!"

Kaiba shook his head and waved his hand while retorting, "Don't exaggerate one woman as everyone. You're going to be hopelessly single with those idiotic puns of yours regardless."

"That's not what I-" Yugi furrowed his eyebrows and rubbed his temples before calmly continuing, "This coming from the guy who comes to me for advice over a girl practically handed to him."

"She's taken, and I have no wish to be a homewrecker," Kaiba amply responded.

"I meant just to be friends with," Yugi smirked as Kaiba scrunched his face after realizing his mistake. He started counting his fingers as he listed, "She's easy to talk to, not to mention interesting, has a kind heart, and not to mention...just happened to share a living space with you for an entire vacation! Don't tell me I can't talk with women when you can't seem to make friends with a woman as easy-going as her!"

"You know I have my reasons," Kaiba scowled and set aside his tablet.

"That only give you more incentive to talk with her."

"That is maddeningly simplistic and opinionated of you to say."

"Is it?"

Kaiba felt one of his eyes start to twitch as he prolonged his patience. He changed the subject by insisting, "That's not why I came here."

"What else could you be here for, then?" Yugi mischievously smiled and rested against his chair, smugly looking at the CEO.

"It's about Mokuba," Kaiba took in a deep breath before continuing, "I have a concern that you can help clear up, but it might be breaching some personal info."

"Continue."

"As you know, he is dating Wheeler's sister. This is Mokuba's first relationship-"

Yugi's face morphed into one of disbelief. He interrupted the other man, "Um...I really don't think she's his first girlfriend." He could specifically remember a couple female names that Mokuba mentioned throughout the years.

"First _serious_ one," Kaiba corrected, "I told him I didn't want to waste my time on meeting any of his girlfriends unless he was utterly sure it was serious."

"So you prefer him to pursue more casual relationships?"

"No...I've recently agreed to a more personal meeting with the Wheelers, and I need to understand the dynamic between him and his girlfriend. Because this is his first, serious girlfriend, I'm concerned that he's going into the relationship completely naive. I'm not exactly happy with his choice...but that's a whole other story I don't care to divulge. I need to know...has that girl ever been serious with someone else? I can faintly recall something with her and Taylor."

"Mm, they had a thing," Yugi frowned but mocking said, "Are you trying to get me to gossip with you? Are we that close now, Kaiba?"

Kaiba ignored the last question and explained, "Asking Mokuba and his girlfriend about an ex is rather rude, and there's no way in hell Wheeler will share me anything."

"Well, Kaiba," Yugi rubbed his chin, "I don't know the exact details, but I remember one day Joey complaining to me when he got caught in the crossfire between those two."

"And?"

"And...what do I get out of this?" Yugi crossed his arms.

"A future favor," Kaiba unwillingly provided. A favor from him was more valuable than most others, and Yugi knew that well enough.

"Well...it was three or four years ago.…"

* * *

" _Yugi, I don't know what to do!" Joey whined as he set down his Duel Monsters cards and rubbed his eyes. He had been up all night and the throbbing in his head from staying up had rendered him brain dead. The blonde man had decided to visit the Kame Game Shop to play a friendly duel with Yugi, hoping that the little game would help lift his spirits. Unfortunately, it wasn't working._

" _Well, you've still got two cards face down before-" Yugi concentrated at the cards laid out in between them on one of the shops' gaming tables, but his observance was interrupted by his opponent._

" _Nooo!" Joey droned as he used both his hands to clasp the sides of his head and shook side to side, "It's Serenity and Tristan! I'm trying so hard to talk to both of 'em and understand what's hurtin' them so bad but they won't budge! My sister's just moping all the time and she keeps to herself in her room, and my longest friend won't even open his front door for me!"_

" _Give it time, Joey...they need to recover," Yugi assured his friend the best he could._

" _I know, I know, but I feel so helpless...and I hate to be dat way! I'm always d'ere for my sister...ever since we were kids! But...but suddenly I can't now. I understand da whole privacy thing, but I just hate seeing her so down. Don't even get me started on Tristan. If that guy shuts down, he shuts down...no matter how much I punch him or abuse his door!"_

" _Sometimes you just gotta let people wait before opening up, Joey, no matter how much it hurts on your part to wait. I guess if you think about it, Tristan is leaving for the military soon. That's bound to complicate things," Yugi offered a suggestion as an explanation for Serenity and Tristan's break-up._

" _I've thought about dat, but I just don't think dat's the only reason," Joey dejectedly continued, "They really cared for each other, even when I tried so hard to prevent dem from happening in da beginning. I should've tried harder if I knew if it was going to end dis badly…."_

" _Joey, you're a great older brother, but you can't protect your sister from everything, and if you did, you wouldn't let her live her own life. A good older brother wouldn't restrict his sister, right?"_

 _Joey silently stared at the game table. The cards on the table became indistinguishable as his eyesight started to become blurry. He allowed Yugi's question to soak. A small smile started to emerge as he started to pick up his cards. Soft, grateful brown eyes matched to his opponent's reassuring violet ones._

" _Thanks, Yugi."_

" _Now, make your move!"_

* * *

"Then it was serious," Kaiba concluded as Yugi finished his story. An ache nibbled the back of his head, for the scenario Yugi had just painted only worsened the part of his brain that Mokuba occupied.

"I mean, I don't know the tiny details. I think eventually Tristan did tell Joey, but it never got to my ears. And Serenity...well you can imagine who she'd confide in," Yugi suggestively winked.

"Don't ever do that in front of my face again," Kaiba disgustedly remarked.

"What, this?" Yugi started to repeatedly use his right eye to wink. In between winks, he said, "Blue...eyes...white..."

"Holy shit, I regret being here," Kaiba groaned at Yugi's rather immature display of mockery. The other man simply laughed.

"Well, here's a new opportunity to talk with her!" Yugi excitedly stated as his eyes started to light up.

"Can't you? She would never tell me anything like that."

"She could sympathize with your reasoning," Yugi shrugged and said, "I don't really have a solid reasoning to ask her anything of the sort at this point."

"Anyways...about her. I've been thinking-"

"You always end up talking about her even though you said you wouldn't this time, hmm?" Yugi pointed out as a smug smile appeared on his face.

"Nevermind," Kaiba scowled and got up, walking towards the door. As his hand was on the door knob, he mentioned, "Get back to work."

"Been trying to."

* * *

"I've been thinking…"

Monday morning, Kaiba pulled the same stunt that he did the previous Friday. This time, he had no tablet in hand. His elbows firmly touched Yugi's armchair as he languidly interlinked his hands in the stereotypical evil villain posture. His eyes glinted beads of concern.

Yugi and his assistant fell victim to the same tactic. His coffee-soaked shirt clinged uncomfortably against his chest as he ushered his assistant and everyone else who had gathered out the door. He grimaced as he shut the door and turned toward Kaiba.

"Is this becoming a regular thing?" He, annoyed, instigated the CEO.

"I can still see your shadows!" Kaiba ignored Yugi's question in order to yell at the door. The same scramble of shoes could be heard as everyone outside started to disassemble from the door.

"Out," Yugi firmly pointed a finger towards the door.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow, pleasantly surprised at the shorter male's ability to turn him down. He inwardly smiled at the change in attitude, as he could only remember a pathetic pushover back in teenagehood. He callously responded, "This is my building before this is your office."

"I'm behind a lot of plans for my current project, and I'm sure you'd understand my worries for this. It's going to affect your company."

"I have something important to discuss," Kaiba insisted as his eyebrows started to furrow in frustration.

"Look, Kaiba," Yugi sighed and crossed his arms, unwilling to seat himself, "Why don't we discuss this somewhere outside of work? You know...where it belongs?"

"I have no energy to spend outside time with you with Battle City this upcoming week. I will extend your project deadline if it stresses you so much, as I'm one cause of the delay. Is that sufficient?"

 _No_ is what Yugi wanted to say. In actuality, his project delay was minor compared to a bigger peeve with Kaiba's sudden appearances in his workspace. The other man's spontaneous visits had sparked virulent rumors on several floors of KaibaCorp. If the office jokes got out of hand, Yugi feared it would reach the outside world, where journalists and reporters existed to further complicate his image. Worst of all, it appeared that Kaiba had little care for the potentially hazardous rumors.

"Whatever, just state your case," Yugi grumbled as he plopped into a chair.

"I think I know what do with that woman's little breakdown episodes," he continued, "I'm requiring a mandatory health exam to all of my employees working during Battle City."

"A health exam?"

"It's perfect isn't, it?" Kaiba agreed with himself as he nodded his head, "I can attribute her problems to actual underlying medical conditions instead of whatever destiny thing you've been preaching, and this check-up won't be out of the ordinary for employees since Battle City's gotten more...unpredictable."

Yugi sat dumbfounded in the face of the company head. He was trying his hardest not to laugh at the other man's overzealous attempts at analyzing a mere woman. When he felt a laugh nearly bubble out his mouth, he coughed violently, trying his best to suppress his emotions. Once he calmed down, he smoothly asked, "So...what are you going to do when there _isn't_ anything physically wrong?"

"Ship her to a psychology ward to search for mental problems," Kaiba replied as if it was perfectly logical.

"How are you gonna reason that? She won't be a KaibaCorp employee after Battle City."

"You're right," Kaiba lowered his eyes and started to think.

Yugi raised both his eyebrows at those mere two words. Never in his life did he think Seto Kaiba would utter that phrase. Maybe, just maybe, he would trash his unnecessarily complicated idea.

"You're absolutely correct, Yugi," Kaiba's eyes quickly flicked toward Yugi as he snapped his fingers, "I need to add a mental examination on top of a physical one!"

The tri-colored hair man felt like Kaiba had literally shanked his face. He disappointedly glared back into the other man's eyes and said, "Or you know...you could like...talk to her...get close...and find out for yourself instead of bugging thousands of other people. Is the wild or what?"

"This is quicker. Besides, this will weed out anyone who actually is incapable of working during Battle City, therefore everything will be safer."

"Have you actually consulted someone other than myself?"

"No," Kaiba firmly responded as he stood up, "Because I know that you know what I know if you just know a little better."

"I don't-" Yugi never got to finish his sentence as Kaiba walked out the door.

The remaining man simply shook his head and properly sat in his own seat. As he was reviewing some files, his mind couldn't help but wonder about Kaiba's erratic behavior. Well, more than normally erratic. As he continually fell into a spiral of analysation, Yugi reached a fairly probable reasoning. He glanced at the door one more time before returning to paperwork.

 _You're batshit delirious around her, Kaiba, as much as you deny it._

* * *

Sunday night, he led himself to Duke's cafe, undeterred by logic and his waning energy. He shut his car door and sailed into the interior. It had been been about a month since he had last visited. This time, the night-life of Domino was more prominent as customers filled the ambience with chatters and discussions. Several people were waiting in line at the register, and everyone seemed too preoccupied to notice the presence of the city's most famous CEO. A decade ago, he would've been identifiable by his flashy trenchcoat and ostentatious steps, but he no longer donned such attire and his steps were drowned by surrounding noise. Those in line, however, did notice his rudeness as he cut the current customer in order to ask an impending question.

"Where is Kisara Amano?"

The female clerk winced back as she furrowed her eyebrows and firmly responded, "Sir, you're going to have to wait in line like everybody else."

"Then I'll find her myself," Kaiba asserted as he left the line and made his way toward the back of the establishment. Several people started to notice who he was, and a flurry of whispers started to emerge.

"Sir, you can't-" An employee rushed to follow him, but he had already reached the kitchen. His eyes scanned the entirety of the vicinity as he completely ignored the rambling pleads of the one employee. The kitchen workers were too busy trying to fulfill the avalanche of requests of various drinks and desserts from the customers outside. His feet started moving through the kitchen as his head ached at the mere possibility that she wasn't working tonight. He didn't know her work schedule, so he had arrived to the cafe with more hope than reason. He had been doing that lately.

"Sora, I told you-" Kisara was cut short of her advice to her co-worker as she noticed an all too familiar figure approaching her coffee work-station. Her eyes darted down as her head was filled with incredulous questions regarding his sudden appearance.

"Kisara, are you alright?" Sora asked as he observed his usually focused co-worker stop short. He leaned closer to her figure, wondering why she was suddenly so interested in rubbing the coffee machine.

 _Sora, you idiot!_ Kisara's head screamed as soon as he said her name. God forbid the CEO was near.

"Amano," Kaiba firmly addressed as he managed to overhear her friend and loomed over Kisara's head. He noticed that she had tucked all of her snowy hair into her black cap. Her eyes were clenched shut at his unfortunate discovery. She could feel her heart beat faster as she regrettably turned to face him.

"Kaiba," she mimicked his tone as her eyes flew open. She didn't know what to say, as she was very much perplexed, and she didn't have the will to ask why he was right here.

"We need to talk," he dully stated.

"I'm busy," she declared. She wasn't lying. She could hear unattended receipts continuously dialing in one by one.

"If you don't-" as Kaiba's voice started to get aggressive, Sora stepped in between the two and glared straight into the other man's eyes.

"I think she clearly doesn't want to be bothered at the moment."

Kaiba was slightly surprised by his sudden approach. He could register the other man's face as the one he had ordered from the last time. A dreadfully handsome face like that was rarely forgotten, and sure enough, his nameplate read "Sora." He was tall too, only an inch shorter than Kaiba, but clearly taller than the average Japanese man. Although Kaiba thought of himself as generally straight, he had to mentally admit this man was handsome. He also noticed that one of Sora's hands was balled into a fist, making the veins of the man's visibly muscular arm pop out.

"Sora," Kisara softly said as she clasped around the wrist of Sora's clenched hand and pulling in back, "I'll get rid of him quickly. Just handle the drinks." She turned her attention to Kaiba and said, "Alright. But we have to go where you won't block everyone."

She quickly walked away, not even glancing to see if Kaiba was following. He did, of course, and he had some commentary, "How can you date someone like Hamada when _that_ guy is right next to you?"

Kisara furrowed her eyebrows and gave a confused yet amused look, "You want his number or something?"

"I'll pass."

The two reached a deserted corner of the kitchen space. Kisara turned around and crossed her arms to indicate her irritation. She quipped, "Make it quick."

Kaiba was slightly thrown off by her uncharacteristically irritated behavior. She was clearly serious about her work, despite how little it probably earned her. He unabashedly answered, "You need to take a medical exam before Battle City. I don't know why you haven't after being given a week."

"I already sent in my health records from a year ago," She seemed to be get more and more annoyed. She bit her bottom lip and unfaltered in her gaze.

"Did you have hallucinations a year ago?"

"No?" She, bewildered, could not seem to understand what he meant.

Kaiba's eyes widened as he remembered that she never seemed to recall her little breakdown in the cave, and she clearly couldn't remember the one in the car from two weeks ago.

"Do you have nightmares? Like the one you had in the villa that one night?"

It was Kisara's turn to have her eyes turn into saucers. Her lips slightly quivered, but she maintained her calm composure. She lied, "No."

"You're horrendously awful at lying."

She stayed silent.

"Can you just take the damn exam tonight? I literally cannot risk the host of my tournament fainting or spazzing in front of thousands of viewers. Do you know how horribly pathetic that would-"

"Kisara, one word, and I will mess this pretty boy up. I don't care if he's Seto Kaiba," Sora gallantly declared as he approached the two, unnerved by the other man's death stares.

"Sora, calm down," Kisara instructed and veered toward Kaiba, "I'm working right now, and I don't have a car or know if the bus lines take me to my usual doctor."

"I will drive you," Kaiba continued, "And you won't be having a job underneath KaibaCorp if you don't come with me right now. If you think I won't fire you in last minute circumstance, you're gravely wrong. You'd be a flaming idiot to pass up a KaibaCorp paycheck for a minimum wage one."

Kisara's raised shoulders lowered a degree as Kaiba's words hit her. She lowered her gaze, but before she could respond, Sora interfered once again.

"If you don't leave, I'm going to have to make you-"

"Sora," Kisara irritatedly called out her friend, overwhelmed by the current situation and the equally chaotic atmosphere of passing workers. She sighed and answered Kaiba, "Fine."

"Sora, I have to leave right now. I'll make up for it later. Really sorry," she apologized to her bewildered friend as she took off her apron and hat, letting her white hair freely fall to her sides. She handed it to her coworker and told Kaiba, "Let's take the back exit."

"Be careful, Kisara," Sora softly wished as he took her work apparel. She simply nodded and waved him off as she led Kaiba toward the back exit.

* * *

The toasty, night summer air hugged her skin as the two stepped off. However, she felt herself shiver at the notion of being in the same car as Kaiba.

"Nice car," she said as soon as she settled into the passenger's seat.

"You were here before," Kaiba retorted as he started up his engine.

"I don't remember."

 _Good,_ he thought. That meant she didn't remember Wheeler's foolish little confession.

"Do you need my usual doctor's address?"

"I already reserved an exam at my own doctor."

"Ah."

And that was the bulk of their conversation on the drive to the clinic. Neither was entirely comfortable with the awkward silence. Kisara's mind kept predicting ways to conversate with her driver, but she found herself too nervous. She could still recall his ill-natured words from the villa. He didn't seem to keep true to his words in treating her like a stranger. She could faintly remember him speaking to her first at his home, something about her collar bones. How strange. Then again, he never seemed like the type to apologize for his words despite going back on them. After all, he never verbally apologized for his behavior the first day of vacation, yet he took her to all those wonderful places the next day. He was as turbulent as the crashing tides against the rutted sands of the night beach the two had tread upon, waning occasionally in deference but waxing frequently in resentment. How frustratingly difficult it was to understand his inconsistent behavior.

* * *

"We're here," he spoke up.

Kisara's train of thought crashed as she noticed he turned his engine off and had his hand on his door handle.

"Wait-" she leaned toward his side.

He paused for a moment to glance at her seemingly distraught face.

"You're...actually accompanying me?" Her voice faded to a whisper as her eyes glimmered in question.

"...Do you want to me to wait out here?"

"No!" She exclaimed and suddenly grew embarrassed at her unparalleled cry.

Kaiba raised a brow as he noticed her cheeks started to form a tinge of pink. He blurted, "Then what are we waiting for?"

"It's just...I-" she tore away to face her own door, "Nevermind."

Kaiba brushed off the small moment as soon as he stepped out on the gravel of the parking lot. He motioned her to follow him. Once the two had stepped into the well-lit clinic, he beelined toward the front desk lady.

"Amano, Kisara," he stated, feeling slightly odd pronouncing her first name. It was pleasantly nice to roll the "r" across his tongue.

"Alright, let me check the records," the lady stated as she started looking through her computer. After a couple of clicks and scrolls, she handed a clipboard with pen and paper. "Since she's a new patient, she needs to fill this out."

"Thank you," Kaiba said as he took the clipboard. Kisara silently followed him to a waiting chair. The two sat in adjacent chairs, and he handed her the clipboard.

As Kisara filled out her basic information, she felt her hand start to numb. Her pen strokes slowly started to stagger the more she filled out the paper.

Kaiba could hear each of her pen's lines in the silent waiting room. He noticed her slower pace. Curious, he glanced over. She looked like she was signing away a death wish from the way sweat glistened against her forehead and her hand was visibly tremoring.

"Do you need help?" Kaiba asked as he started to lean over to look at the clipboard.

Kisara instantly held the clipboard closer to her as she jerked her body away from her companion. She blinked a couple of times, trying to get her blurry sight to clearly register Kaiba's questioning face.

"No. I'm good," she insisted as she went back into filling her form. This time, she was overly focused on getting the whole thing done at an alarming rate. He could only stare at her clumsy attempt. He could see and her pen vigorously crossing out lines and lines. Once she finished, she abruptly stood up and handed the clipboard to the front desk lady, who instructed her to wait a couple more minutes. She complied and returned to her seat next to Kaiba.

Kaiba by then had pulled out his phone, ignoring Kisara's return. Eventually, he did glance over, only to find the same anxious woman. Her eyes seemed to only focus on the beige tiled flooring of the waiting room, and he could see her fingers constantly tap against her lap.

"That Sora guy...he seems like he cares for you," he spoke up as if to distract her from her anxiety.

She looked at him, shocked by the sudden statement. Still, she willingly responded, "Ah, he's like that with every female worker. A real charmer, isn't he? I swear, every girl has swooned for those devilishly handsome silver eyes of his. A couple of guys too, actually." She chuckled at the last part.

"Including you?" He was making small talk at this point.

Kisara pursed her lips and thought for a moment before answering, "I can't say I have, actually."

"Then what made you choose Hamada?" Kaiba continued his interrogation, "I mean...Sora seems just about caring and he's...well above average looking..."

"Reo is just as handsome!" Kisara protested passionately as she smiled thinking about boyfriend. She giggled and asked, "Are you sure _you're_ not interested in Sora? I didn't think those tabloids were accurate, but hearing you in-person…."

"I'm just saying," Kaiba rolled his eyes before continuing, "Any straight male would acknowledge his looks. That guy risked aggrandizing the most influential person in Domino just to protect you. What does Hamada have over him? He quivers just hearing me breathe."

"Like I said, Sora treats every female worker like that," she repeated, although he wasn't sure if she truly believed in that. Kaiba noticed her face start to light up as she continued, "I'm not saying Reo treats every other woman badly. Everyone might think he's average-looking, and he might only be a centimeter above me, but...none of that matters when I feel so _right_ with him. And he's not weak. He's kind-hearted, accepting, and understandable. _Simple_. It's... _refreshing_."

She seemed to waver over the last word. Still, the way she had described Hamada was drenched in a syrupy, honey-like tone. Her face had calmed down to a pleasant expression, and her fingers had finally stopped fidgeting around. Something stirred inside of him to see her so relaxed after speaking of another man, but he remembered that he really had no right to harbor such thoughts. Before he could press on, a woman opened the office door and announced, "Amano, Kisara."

And the same aura of panic manifested inside of her, and Kaiba was wary to such feeling. As she stood up, he could see the slight wobble in her composure. Before she disappeared inside, he stood up and walked over.

"Is it possible that I can continue to accompany her inside?" he coolly asked.

Kisara was taken aback by his sudden show of cordiality. She peeked her head over, noticing his expressionless face as he completely had his attention on the nurse at hand. A warm feeling, that same perplexing one that associated with him bloomed inside of her. In that moment, she was grateful. She wanted him to be near her, reassure her that everything would be fine. Consequently, a fear arose inside of her, and the feeling of dread overpowered her desire for his companionship.

"Yes, that is fine-" before the nurse could continue, Kisara abruptly spoke up.

"I can handle myself," she cheerfully stated. She turned around and produced another one of her sugar-coated smiles, but much to her dismay, he didn't seem convinced by her statement. His lips parted to form a protest, but instead they produced compliance.

"If you say so," he stonely stated.

She was a bad liar.

In the blink of an eye, she and the nurse disappeared into the office. For a good minute, he was dazed by the closed door. It felt like it had slapped him squarely.

He returned to his seat, suddenly thinking that the chair was a lot harder than before.

* * *

" _Seto," a sniffing child's voice entered the vicinity of a library. He struggled to walk toward the only other person in the room._

 _A young Seto put down his book to rush toward his little brother. His baby brother looked bedraggled. As he was rubbing one of his eyes with one of his tear-soaked sleeves in a measly attempt to rid of them, an uncontrollable stream of snot flowed from his nose. His head of raven hair was tangled at all ends, and newly visible scratches and marks appeared on his exposed legs._

" _Mokuba!" Seto pulled him into a tight embrace before demanding, "What happened?!"_

" _I-I d-don't w-wanna," Mokuba couldn't finish his sentence before exploding into a surge of suppressed tears, using Seto's immaculate sweater vest to hide his crying face._

 _Seto pulled his brother away and forced Mokuba to look straight into his face, "You have to tell me who did this to you. I swear, I'm going to-"_

" _JUST TAKE ME TO THE NURSE!" Mokuba screamed as his tears got more and more uncontrollable._

" _Moki, I need to know names-"_

" _NO, YOU DON'T!" Mokuba continued his hysterical yelling, "J-JUST TAKE ME TO THE NURSE...please…."_

 _Seto couldn't help but obey his wishes. There was no point in trying to press on. He extended his hand, to which Mokuba fit his tiny hand into. However small his hand was, Seto grew increasingly aware that his brother's slowly got bigger._

 _Right. As tiny in stature Mokuba was, Seto wasn't oblivious to his growth. In the early times of being at the orphanage, his little brother seemed to always hold his hand. But that little boy was growing fast, and so did his courage. Long were the days where he was constantly glued to Seto's side, and the hand-holding was getting more and more sporadic as he slowly started pulling away. But there were still moments when trying to grow up fast had its consequences for the little five-year old, and Seto would always have to be there. He was consistently available, but he was simultaneously aware of the need for Mokuba to grow on his own._

 _He mulled over those thoughts while watching Mokuba get treated by the orphanage's nurse. He could see the noticeable winces and clenching of Mokuba's teeth as the nurse treated his exposed wounds with rubbing alcohol. Seto's hand twitched when he noticed that he wasn't holding Mokuba's hand. As if by instinct, his hand started to inch toward Mokuba's, but he stopped himself. Mokuba was trying his best to quell the stinging by remaining quiet. He didn't cry as much as he used to._

 _Seto's face softened as he continued to silently oversee his brother's treatment. Once everything was settled, Mokuba ran up to Seto and hugged his waist tightly. After a couple of seconds, he raised his head and gratefully voiced, "Thank you, Seto...for just being there for me."_

" _Always," Seto softly smiled and gently rubbed Mokuba's hair._

* * *

Kaiba's eyes blinked quickly for a couple of seconds. He didn't realize he had been out in a stupor for quite a while. Maybe he was just exhausted, but he couldn't link his sudden flashback to the current situation. He shook his head and started reading current news on his phone. A while had passed before Kisara emerged from the door.

He looked up, and when he looked into those charming eyes of hers, he started to understand why he remembered that one memory. Her lips had formed a compact smile, authentic unlike her previously fraudulent one.

"Thank you, Kaiba, for just being there for me," She graciously said as she approached his seating figure.

 _Always - wait, no,_ his head started to ache at the coincidental dialogue and his near verbal slip. He only grunted, but before he could say anything else, the front desk lady had called them over. He instantly got up and walked over to the desk.

"Here's the file with Ms. Amano's results," the lady handed Kaiba a yellow file with white papers visible from the front.

Just as the file landed in Kaiba's hand, Kisara quickly tried to snatch the file. The two found themselves in a firm hold on both ends of the file, like two lions grasping the carcass of prey.

"Excuse me, but what exactly is on this file?" Kisara started tugging and her eyes flashed fury toward an indignant Kaiba, who easily resisted her pulls. She turned her head toward the nurse and hesitantly asked, "My patient history would not be on this, would it?"

"No, Ms. Amano. That would be a violation of patient privacy. It's just your basic profile and a report from today's exam."

"Ah," Kisara relieved a sigh and let go of the file. She ignored Kaiba's livid glare as she continued, "Thank you! Have a good night!"

* * *

The two left and returned to Kaiba's car. Once they were on the road, he was able to faintly connect his sudden memory to the current one. As awfully intrigued as he was in the matters that Kisara had clearly tried to hide tonight, probing her with direct questions regarding her medical records would only irritate her. Like Mokuba then, she seemed like she was content with his presence and had no wish for him to pry too deeply. Instead, he chose to ask roundabout questions.

"Do you come by a clinic often?" he audibly asked.

Kisara broke her stare at the passing scenery to turn her head over to her driver. She left his face and looked ahead at the road before feebly answering, "Not anymore."

"I assume you were often alone."

She chuckled softly and listlessly commented, "How observant."

Her two-word responses were starting to get on his nerves. He suddenly felt like he was talking to one of his mindless employees at KaibaCorp - the ones who would say "yes" or "no" or "mhm" as a lazy response to one of his rather pertinent speeches. But he refrained himself.

"Why...didn't you ask someone to come with you this time?"

"I…" Kisara paused for a bit to recollect her thoughts, "didn't want someone close to me to be suspicious. If someone like _you_ -er." She felt her face flush as she caught her words.

 _Someone like me_ , he repeated her words in his mind. He knew it wasn't a compliment.

"If someone not as close to me, like you….was able to sniff me out like that, it would be even easier for someone closer to do the same. They would try to get every piece out of me, and it would burden them. It would stress me even more to bring up something in the past, anyways," she paused momentarily, as if it reflect on her history. She continued, "I guess this time...I really needed someone like you - _a stranger_. Someone who rarely glances my way but…is reliable enough to wait for me. Sorry...I'm rambling like crazy."

"Don't apologize for minor things," Kaiba stated. How odd. She was able to transform the word "stranger" into a new light. The status he tried to implicate between the two of them suddenly reversed connotations. He continued, "But...there's a fault in locking yourself away so much."

"You can't preach what you don't believe in, _Seto Kaiba_ ," Kisara quickly caught his contradiction, and a tiny, smile of mischief emerged on her face.

He felt a rush down his spine when she voiced his first name, even if it was in a sardonic manner. He wanted to slam his car into a full stop as he realized his grave mistake. He had been too caught up in trying to point out her flawed logic that he ended up screwing his own.

"Then I suppose we're both hypocrites," he concluded.

Kisara cocked her head and glanced over to his side. He appeared confident in his declaration, yet it seemed so out of the blue. She asked, "How am _I_ one?"

"You once told me the world doesn't work by trying to erase things you hate and locking them way, but that's what you're doing with your medical history. The fact that you avoided going to a simple health checkup, an important one for your job, means you've been running away and trying to erase whatever experiences you had with a place like that. But the past is a part of you, yet extracting a morsel of it to share, even with the closest person to you who could potentially help, is enough to drive you over the edge, isn't it? I feel about the same way with my own issues."

"How brilliant," Kisara admitted as she leaned back into the comforts of the car's extra plush seat, "I guess we both have our demons - _oh lord_ , wait, that sounds too edgy! I mean...I guess we both have things we'd rather hide from everyone. But, I admit that you've been strangely a bit more open about the thing you've been trying to suppress."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow, wondering what she meant by her last statement. He said, "Enlighten me."

"Edelweiss girl," she answered but felt herself uncertain, "I think. Someone you seemed to care about. Maybe regret. Something about my collar bones reminding you of her."

"It's easier to mention something personal to _strangers_. They rarely glance your way but...they're reliable enough to listen without judgement," he tried his best to reason with her. He hoped she had caught on by what he meant.

"I really am a hypocrite," she surmised, "I think I quite like being strangers with you, Kaiba."

"Likewise, Amano."

* * *

Soon, they had reached the college apartment complex.

"Well, thank you for driving me-" Kisara started to grab for the door handle, but she felt a hand grasp around her arm. Warm. As usual.

"Wait," Kaiba called out. He realized his sudden action and decided to quickly pull back. She settled back into her seat. He cleared his throat and asked, "Can we talk about something?"

"Sure," she easily answered, "If you want, we can talk up in the apartment. I can brew us some tea. Serenity will be there though."

He nearly accepted her proposal. A part of him, the temptatious one he despised, wanted to jump on the prospect of entering her living space. But that was out of the question. If anything, he suddenly didn't want to fulfill his wish of talking more with her. Initially, he wanted to discuss further regarding Serenity and Mokuba. He was about to take up Yugi's advice on querying Kisara about Serenity's past affiliation with Tristan, but he suddenly didn't feel like talking more than he already had with her. He didn't want to end the night by talking about other people. He was weirdly gratified by the previous conversation that only concerned the two of them.

"It's fine, I just wanted to say," he felt himself start to hesitate but calmly continued, "Take care of yourself. Prepare for the first day of Battle City tomorrow, and be more than just a pretty face."

Kisara nearly winced at the phrase "pretty face." She knew when Kaiba used it the first time, he didn't mean it in a pleasant way. Yet, this time, she felt a slight difference in his tone. Her stomach flipped at the notion of the CEO acknowledging her looks, wondering why she felt so worked up over the mere possibility of his approval when there were numerous others that complimented her more often. She decided she was in over her head and chose not to over-analyze his words. She nodded off a genuine smile and said, "Thank you. I'll make you proud, Mr. CEO! Have a good night!"

With one wink, one less cringe-worthy and admittedly more charming than Yugi's, the stranger left his car.

* * *

"Where were you, Seto?" Mokuba asked loudly as he heard the sound Kaiba's footsteps.

Kaiba made his way over to his little brother, who was situated on the couch playing what appeared to be an intense game of some shooter game. He leaned over the couch and firmly squeezed his little brother's shoulders.

"I'll _always_ be here for you, Mokuba."

Mokuba froze at his brother's sudden sentimentality. His small moment of paralysis cost him in-game death. He dropped his controller, looked up, and questioningly said, "Um...I love you too?"

"Tch, go back to losing," Kaiba chuckled and playfully poked Mokuba's head, "I was dealing with work stuff. Medical examinations weren't filled in properly. I have a couple late ones I need to log in tonight."

"Sounds fun, bro. Let me know if you need help," Mokuba waved as he started another game.

"Uh-huh," Kaiba faked belief. He headed straight towards his study room with several files underneath his arm. Bookshelves practically served as its walls, yet everything remained spick and span, aside from his desk. That easily ended up a mess. He sat in his classic swivel chair and dove straight into the first file, hers.

She was clean. There was nothing wrong mentally or physically. He felt like he had just hit a dead-end. The entire point of assigning the medical examination was to procure any logical reason for her health problems. It was also a means for him to find such reason without having to get closer to her. If anything, he was scared to get closer because there was a possibility that his existence triggered her episodes, not to mention the plausibility of her continually having nightmarish memories from some stupid previous life. He was stuck.

And then he thought about her medical history, the one she tried so hard to hide. Maybe the answer lied there, but there was no way he could legally obtain that information. Frankly, he _could_ hire people to scavenge for him, ones that could expertly hide his involvement. There wasn't anything stopping him but guilty conscience. Miraculously, he found himself respecting her privacy, especially after their conversation in the car. He slammed both his elbows on his desk and buried his head within his hands. As his elbows inched farther apart the further his head lowered, he accidentally knocked some files off his desk.

He groaned and grumbled as he started picking up after his own mess. One file had its contents completely fly out in the open. He picked up the white papers, placing them haphazardly back on the desk. As he flicked on his desk lamp, the form on the very top paper caught his interest. His fingers trembled as he picked up the paper and brought it closer to his face, as if to ensure what he glanced at was false. What he read, he truly wished was purely and utterly erroneous, as that simple piece of expired tree flesh would denote further entanglement in the life of Kisara Amano.

 **PATIENT INFORMATION**

 **Last Name:** Hamada

 **First Name:** Reo

 **M.I.:** N/A

 **Date of Birth:** December 2, 1987

 **Mailing Address:** 6789 New Domino Court

 **Home Phone Number:** (123) - 7392 - 7328

 **Cell Phone Number:** (123) - 4567 - 8910

 **Work Phone Number:** (123) - 3725 - 2648

 **Employer Name:** Kaiba, Seto

 **Marital Status:** Married

 **Emergency Contact Name:** Hamada, Yukina

 **Emergency Contact Phone:** (123) - 7920 - 0901

 **Relationship to Patient:** Wife

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** Not real phone numbers or addresses.

 **A/N:** This chapter wasn't really supposed to be a thing, but I wanted another transition one before Battle City. It also wasn't supposed to be this long, haha, but I enjoyed it. I swear, I won't have much time for the next chapter because school literally starts in two days for me.

Anyways, I think I've come to a conclusion with my Seto vs. Kaiba debate. I feel as if I'm writing more of the "Kaiba" persona rather than "Seto" for the chapters written so far, so I will continue using "Kaiba." I am considering using "Seto" when he is further explored (you know that eventual sobby backstory discussion he's gonna have to confess). In the flashback of Mokuba and Seto, I used "Seto" because he wasn't "Kaiba" back then. Thank you so much for those who gave feedback regarding my problem :) I really value them!

 **Review Responses:**

 **Bleach power:** Kaiba was talking about someone else ;) Haha, I really, really love writing young adult Mokuba. He's so fun to predict about, and I really love reading about his antics in other fanfics too! Thank you for continuously reading and reviewing!

 **Magi Mana:** Whoa, I would like give a huge thanks for such a lengthy review! I admittedly didn't plan the Mokuba and Serenity romance, since it's so unconventional, but it just...ended up being a thing when I kept thinking about the plot? I will have a say in the Serenity/Tristan relationship later on. It'll be a whole subplot, hehe. Ah, yes, I love the Kaiba and Joey dynamic, and it definitely will be fleshed out more in later chapters! I'm really glad you find Serenity and Joey's careers/possible careers reasonable, and don't worry, Joey still has time to duel on the side ;)

Hehe, I can't wait to write about the whole Egyptian past thing. It's such a staple in blueshipping fanfics, and so is the whole finally calling Kaiba "Seto" deal. Hope you continue to like reading this story!

 **Juella:** Ack, honestly, last chapter was such a rollercoaster, in the best way possible. I really love writing about the whole gang, even if Téa and Tristan weren't there. I'm hoping to include more moments like that in the future, so I'm really happy you like that!

Yes, I can't wait to roast that guy ;) Or shall I say, Kaiba can't wait.


	11. Chapter 10: It's Complicated

To be a bystander was perhaps a surprisingly frustrating state for Kaiba. Normally, a lack of privy in others' personal conflicts and relations was ideal. Yet, on the morning of Monday, atop KaibaCorp's iconic rooftop, his abdomen warped into atypical knots as his head turned to view the closing figure of that white haired woman, flocked by several team members in preparation for the start of Battle City.

"For someone so stone-like in personality, you can't seem to keep still," Mai Valentine huffed and blew a piece of her hair away from her face as she withdrew a makeup brush from a distracted Kaiba's face. Her team of makeup artists were busy touching-up Mokuba and eventually Kisara for live broadcast, as no one else had the guts to potentially mess up the face of Seto Kaiba.

"You are absurdly slow," Kaiba quipped as he turned his attention toward the older female, who remained coolly unfazed.

Mai threw up her hands and ranted, "Maybe if you actually slept last night, your dark circles wouldn't take so damn long to conceal! Don't even get me started on your red-ass waterline! Seriously, I would think that-"

"Finish the damn job, Valentine. Remember who's paying you," Kaiba lowly growled as a scowl started to form on his lips. His foot started to tap impatiently.

Mai grit her teeth as she returned to her previous work of covering the man's appalling purple circles. Even when his head stopped moving, it didn't help that his eyes kept rolling to who knows where.

A laugh as clear as bells rung near. Kisara had extracted herself from her team to approach the two and commented, "I bet a lot of people would pay to see you get all dolled up, haha!"

Kaiba's eyes started to twitch. He noticed her makeup. It was heavier than previous occasions, with her pale skin a flawless canvas, her eyes even more doll-like with shimmers and lengthened eyelashes, and the faintest shade of rose on her lips. Her pitch black suit was tasteful, revealing the front of a light blue dress shirt and cream silk tie. Instead of a pair of leather shoes, however, she had donned a pair of seemingly painful black high heels, with peeks of blue on the bottom.

Mai whistled as she refrained from her work to gape at her friend's ensemble. She excitedly commented, "Aren't you the handsomest in all of Domino?"

"Fit for the fairest of ladies," Kisara playfully bowed to Mai as she lifted her hand, to which Mai obliged to fit her hand into.

As Kisara rose, Mai raised an eyebrow and reached out to tap a brooch on the other woman's suit. She asked, "Well, well, well, this looks incredibly expensive. Are you borrowing it or something?"

Kisara lowered her head to glance at the brooch attached. It was a beautiful one in the shape of the infamous blue eyes white dragon, decorated by varying shades of twinkling blue from unknown stones. She smiled as she rubbed the small item, "It can't be that expensive since the wardrobe team told me it was a gift."

Mai skeptically continued scrutinizing the brooch, but before she could conjure an argument, Kaiba audibly cleared his throat and urgently voiced, "Are you done or are you just wasting my time, Valentine?"

Mai rolled her eyes and immediately returned, fighting the urge to release a stream of unwarranted insults that would put a sailor to shame. This time, at least, Kaiba had no problem remaining still, avoiding Kisara's intrigued gaze.

"So how pretty are you making him, Mai?" She moved closer to the two.

"Oh, I'm just covering some of his ugly ass dark circles," Mai briefly stated as she ignored Kaiba's dirty glares, "Nothing like what I do on idols."

"Mm…" Kisara nodded and placed a hand on her chin while warmly looking at Kaiba's face. He stared back with an emotionless expression. She teasingly said, "I think he's a hopeless case even if you did his makeup like an idol."

"Perhaps because I'm not as effeminate as one," Kaiba argued, "Though that would explain your taste in men." His tongue felt like it had a bitter taste in allusion to the man he was referring to.

Kisara only giggled and responded, "I don't think you realize how much of a pretty boy you are."

"Because I'm not."

"Are too," Kisara insisted as she mockingly displayed a small crooked smile before continuing, "Except when you smile all awkwardly like this."

"Kisara's got a point you know," Mai chimed in as she finally finished correcting and concealing Kaiba's under eyes, "Your face doesn't fall too far from the boys I normally do makeup on...if you didn't look so dead all the time."

"You finished your job," Kaiba ignored her sentiments, "I'm done with you."

Mai shrugged, packed her things, and before officially leaving, hugged Kisara tightly with one hand. She said, "Good luck, hunny. Can't wait to see your face broadcasted all over Domino soon."

"Thanks Mai!" Kisara cheerfully responded as she waved her friend off. She turned around to find another woman had secured her way to the CEO.

She had the sleekest, blackest hair flowing past her waist. Her emerald green dress was cut perfectly to compliment her glamorous figure, and her skin was free of imperfections. Her slender fingers were busy weaving in and out of a stately black tie around Kaiba's neck. It appeared that she arrived to do such thing, and she seemed to be carrying a conversation with the CEO through what seemed like Mandarin Chinese. Kisara held her breath when the woman turned around and glanced her way. She was unbelievably gorgeous. If Kisara had a fresh, innocent look, then this woman carried a look of matured elegance despite appearing young. She continued wordlessly gawking at the woman, even when she left to attend other matters.

"What the hell is wrong with your face?" Kaiba asked as he noticed how her mouth remained open for a good minute.

"I-I j-just," Kisara stuttered as she attempted to calm herself. She turned to Kaiba as she tucked her curled hair behind her ears, "Who was she?"

Kaiba raised his eyebrows. He was no stranger to such a question when it came to his secretary. Several fellow businessmen would interrogate him on the matter. A part of him relished in the fact that Kisara had noticed. He half-smiled and answered, "My secretary. Why?"

Her cheeks were tinted with pink, even through the blush of her makeup. She opened her mouth, "How can you still be single when a woman like _that_ is around you all the time? Like...I would hit that!"

Kaiba stood dumbfounded at her question and exclamation. She sounded like the same businessmen who flocked to him for his secretary's number...and the way he did regarding Sora.

"You want her number or something?"

"Yes!" Kisara exclaimed and her face got redder. She fanned herself and said, "Are you being serious?"

"No."

"She looks so cool…like she's got everything in her life down," she sighed and nodded her head in self-agreement.

"And you don't?" He half-heartedly asked.

"Not really," she chuckled.

It was irksome. He didn't know what he wanted her to feel about his attractive secretary, but her reaction was a tad bit disappointing. On the topic of disappointment, he felt himself slowly fall into a sick feeling of unwarranted sadness the more he looked at her. It was a feeling he had never felt before. The situation of knowing more of certain things about someone than they knew themselves was disturbing. Of course, there were plenty of times when he actively sought out at piece of information he could get out of his business rivals in lieu of exploitation, but this time it dealt with someone who he actually _didn't_ want to ruin. He knew a little too much for his comfort.

"...Is everything fine?" She nervously asked as she noticed his eyes appeared to zone towards her longer than usual.

"Why do I hear that all the time when it comes to Seto?" A joking voice appeared behind the two. Mokuba wrapped one arm around his brother's neck as he continued, "He better be fine, because we're launching soon. C'mon you guys!"

"Tch," Kaiba clicked his tongue and briskly turned and started to enter one of his ridiculously numerous blue eyes white dragon jets soon to be launched all across Domino.

* * *

Kaiba groaned as he settled into the couch of his single hotel room, where investors and businessmen would stay for the entire duration of Battle City. Night had fallen, and he was relieved to have his well-deserved rest after overseeing the frameworks of the tournament. His eyes closed as drops of water from his wet hair still swept down his neck from his shower. Eyes shut, he could only imagine all the duels he had seen from behind a screen, and he couldn't help but wish he was in at least one. Even facing a third tier duelist seemed slightly exciting. His fingers inched towards a remote and turned on the television. His eyes drifted open, as if to replace his imagination with the pixels from the television.

" _Seto Kaiba has once again surpassed expectations for the 7th Battle City. Not one, not ten, not one hundred, but one thousand dragon jets were launched into the skyline of Domino this morning. If that doesn't say ridiculous and global warming, then I don't know what does!" One variety show exclaimed as she tossed back her brown hair back in a dramatic fashion._

" _May I add obsessive there, Mina?" A co-host man with spoked, neon orange hair chuckled before adding, "You would think he would broaden the diversity of his dragons beyond Blue Eyes this and Blue Eyes that, but nope, he didn't! I cannot, for the life of me, understand his obsession! It's mind-boggling, isn't it?"_

" _You got that right, Takumi! Say, Ms. Amano," the female host, Mina, turned toward a seated Kisara, whose attention was given as the camera was panned toward her seated figure, "Have you got a clue?"_

 _Kisara laughed nervously as she pulled a piece of hair behind her ear while adjusting herself before answering, "I think everyone in Domino, if not the world, knows of Mr. Kaiba's - ergh, fixation…."_

" _More like fetish, hah!" Takumi, the male host blurted out._

" _...But," Kisara giggled along with Mina before her face calmed down and her voice turned sincere, "As much as I think it's hilarious as well, I believe that funny-looking lizard means more to him than any of us can imagine. I've thought about it. Someone can't be that obsessed about something without having some kind of personal meaning."_

 _Funny looking lizard?_ Kaiba slightly scowled at the woman's mocking description of his precious dragon, but the feeling of nerve won over. It seemed like she had no affinity for the dragon. In theory, he should've been relieved, as her dismissal of the dragon meant she had no connection or memory. Yet he knew in the reaches of his mind that it wasn't true at all that she _wasn't_ related.

" _Mmm," Mina nodded her head as she listened to Kisara, "You're right. The blue eyes white dragon isn't just special in Duel Monsters, but for Seto Kaiba, hm? I've heard this theory from others, but it appears no one exactly knows why since that man is so private about his life."_

" _So, Ms. Amano," Takumi mischievously asked, "You've thought about Seto Kaiba?"_

 _The camera zoomed in on Kisara's face, and a tinge of red was evident upon her pale cheeks. She seemed to collect herself as she smoothly joked, "I mean...what KC employee hasn't had a nightmare or two about that man?"_

He recognized that fake smile of hers. The one she passed off as genuine. Her smile fell short of a degree. Perhaps he was reading too much into her words, but they felt double-ended, as if she were masking her experiences as jokes. Could it be that she too had dreams of him as he did of her? It would line with her silence concerning her most recent dreams back at the café when he had inquired.

"Fuck," he breathlessly grunted as he caught himself feeling the smallest bit of excitement. He excused himself to be that it was derived from curiosity and nothing else.

" _Heh, well you've got a point right there, Ms. Amano," Takumi admitted but continually mocked, "But they say your dreams are reflective of your subconscious desires, eh?"_

 _Kisara raised her eyebrow and incredulously responded, "I don't think I desire being held over an endless pit by Seto Kaiba."_

A burst of sharp pain suddenly hit through his head, and he quickly lowered his head to grab ahold of his forehead. The momentous pain subsided quickly, and he was able to return to the television.

" _My god, what dreams have you been having?" Mina asked with a bemused expression._

" _It was so surreal," Kisara added as she shook her head, "Not only that, but there were these bizarre and terrifying monsters that were looking overhead."_

" _So Seto Kaiba was trying to toss you into a pit?" Takumi scoffed in disbelief but added, "Then again, that's probably a common nightmare for anyone who has come across him."_

 _Kisara looked momentarily confused, as if she had to rethink about her experience. Her lips trembled as she thought harder. She eventually said, "Actually, it's getting a bit blurry. I don't think he was…."_

" _So he was trying to save you? How romantic," Takumi suggestively noted as his eyebrows went up and down._

" _Are you trying to set me up with him?" Kisara laughed in an attempt to change subjects, "You've got to know he's absolutely not my type."_

" _Oh?" Mina chimed in as she stated, "Well a lot of folks suspect you might be his type. I mean, you've got white hair and blue eyes. The thing he loves most in the world is his blue eyes white dragon."_

" _Isn't that sort of ridiculous, though? I may resemble his favorite color scheme for his favorite dragon, but I don't think he would go for someone who simply matches that. I'm most certainly the worst fit for him, and he is the same for me."_

" _But you have to admit that you two would make a very attractive couple," Takumi pointed out, "Several people have fantasized about seeing you two together and that there was even suspicion that he held interest in you. Before Battle City, no one in Domino knew who Kisara Amano was, and the fact that Seto Kaiba decided to exchange his brother for a nobody, a beautiful one though, as host created great curiosity. I mean, heh, you two are probably second to the Seto Kaiba and Yugi Muto pairing that's all the rage these days..."_

" _Attractive to the eye, maybe so," Kisara argued, "But we're just not each other types. He hired me for business reasons, and nothing more. That Kaiba/Yugi pairing is probably more likely!"_

" _So what exactly is your type, Ms. Amano?" Mina asked, "And what is Seto Kaiba's?"_

" _I think I'm giving the sense that I actually know him," Kisara waved her hands in dismissal, "I wouldn't know his type, but I suspect it isn't me. I, on the other hand, don't have an eye for CEOs with short tempers, grumpy attitudes, and a flashy army of various blue eyes white dragon jets."_

" _Then I guess all the single men in Domino will be relieved to hear that," Takumi pointed out, "But you only stated what you don't want in a man, not what you look for."_

" _Oh, are we finally moving on from Seto Kaiba and finally focusing on me?" Kisara joked as the hosts laughed and nodded their heads, "Well...this is probably going to sound super ordinary, but a regular Joe wouldn't be too bad. Someone with an ordinary job who can spare some time for me. He would have to love me for who I am, and the occasional surprise or two wouldn't be too bad. And lastly, he doesn't have to be the handsomest in everyone's eyes, but essentially is to me because attractiveness is 99% a wonderful and sweet personality."_

" _My, my," Mina said, "Oddly specific, aren't you? You couldn't be dating anyone right now, could you?"_

" _Oh no," Kisara quickly added, but a look of wistfulness and joy had fleshed out onto her face as a dreamy glimmer in her eyes flashed._

Kaiba turned off the television. He knew she was describing her bastard of a boyfriend, and it further sickened the already apparent and continuous discomfort in his gut. Unfortunately for her, that man had a surprise she wouldn't be over the moon about.

He buried his head into his hands as he bent over the couch. It was annoying how one piece of information had completely baffled his mind. It wasn't supposed to be important to him, but it had become exhaustingly so that it disturbed him 24/7. Worst of all, he had an entire tournament to oversee, something that was clearly and logically more important.

He was so occupied by his mental predicament that he failed to notice the clicking of his hotel door opening.

"Seto," Mokuba not-so-silently whispered harshly as he tiptoed closer to his brother, "Are you going to be done being emo soon?"

Kaiba immediately raised his head and met the eyes of his mischievous brother. He reluctantly asked, "Let me guess. You want to drag me on a brilliant scheme of yours."

"Well," Mokuba excitedly said as he plopped down on the couch next to his brother, "Tonight. Me and the friends are playing some games in my hotel room."

"That's great, Mokuba. You don't need my permission to have a sleepover now that you're an adult," Kaiba sarcastically responded, although he pretty much knew what Mokuba was proposing.

"I'd love to have you over too?" a grin spread widely over Mokuba's face.

"I'm sure you would, but I'm not sure your friends would. Not sure if I would too."

"C'mon!" Mokuba exclaimed and pleaded, "The more days that pass, the closer I leave for America."

Kaiba sighed, knowing full well that Mokuba was playing the America card again. He reluctantly agreed, "Fine."

* * *

"Thought dis was a no moneybags zone," a distinct voice announced once Kaiba stepped one foot into Mokuba's hotel room.

"Anything I say having to do with a dog is a better comeback than your stupid "moneybags" insult, Wheeler," Kaiba quipped as soon as he caught view of the blonde sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room.

"You're just gettin' lazy, Kaiba. All your dog jokes ran out," Joey insisted.

"Not as fast the money in your bank account every time I release a new duel disk system."

"Everyone knows they're all da same each year. You're just milkin' money out of people as an excuse dat you ain't got no ideas left."

"Say that to my company's rising stock and my fat wallet, but you wouldn't know what either look like, would you?"

"I fuckin' hate ya, Kaiba."

"Likewise, but to a higher degree, because I do everything better than you."

"**** ***** *****!"

"**** ***** ***** ***!"

Both Mokuba and Yugi were under crisis control as the former prevented his brother from inching closer to Joey and the latter was keeping his best friend seated down. Both Joey and Kaiba's faces were red as they continued shouting at each other. Pleads from Mokuba and Yugi were rendered useless.

"Could y'all SHUT UP?!"

Mai had slammed a wine bottle onto the living room table. None of the men had noticed that she, Serenity, and Kisara had entered from the kitchen area.

Joey bit his bottom lip as both his girlfriend and little sister were in closer proximity, but his eyes continually glared at Kaiba. Kaiba, on the other hand, averted his gaze. It wasn't necessarily Joey he wanted to look away from, but the presence of the woman he was trying so hard to avoid.

"I understand you two aren't the best of friends, but what exactly has caused the two of you to be _extra_ stupid tonight?" Mai loudly asked as she gave both men dirty looks.

"Ugh," Joey rubbed his hair in frustration and duly confessed, "I really wanted to be in dis year's Battle City, but work has been bitin' my ass. It's startin' to be a thing where I can't enjoy what I want. Not dat I hate my job or anythin', but it sure sucks being an adult."

"Try being the CEO of a corporate giant since the age of fourteen. I've had it harder than you, Wheeler, so don't you dare complain about having a basic job," Kaiba scowled as he completely dismissed Joey's problem.

"I don't think it's fair to compare yourself to Joey," a soft voice had emerged from Kisara.

"Yes, I agree," Kaiba sarcastically said as he turned to face her, "Clearly the mutt can't hold a candle to the amount of shit I've gone through and has no right to complain."

"Kaiba, if you weren't so-" Joey nearly ranted off, but Kisara had interjected.

"I meant that both of you have your own issues. They both mean a lot to yourselves and not the other, so belittling Joey literally isn't helping anyone. Are you just trying to prove your life was harder or something? Because that's nothing to brag about," Kisara stated in what was a clearly annoyed tone.

Everyone became silent as the tension between the unlikely pair rose. Kaiba's eyes wanted to pop out of his sockets at her words. His mouth wanted to move, but looking at her for so long reminded him of everything he wanted to tell her and everything he shouldn't.

"Are you being extra irritated today because of your past or because of something else?" Kisara broke the silence as she threw another question. Her arms were folded across her chest.

Kaiba broke himself from Mokuba's grasp and slowly edged toward the white haired woman. As he walked, he said, "Oh, it's something else, alright. It's something that would hurt someone I shouldn't care about, but for some reason it's killing me that I don't tell her."

His tongue had slipped in a fit of unwarranted emotion.

"Then tell her."

They were about three inches from each other, with Kaiba looking down at the woman, but his eyes weren't as cold as they usually were. There was a soft warmness, but not enough to stray away from the look of pity he gave her. Her eyebrows furrowed, recognizing that his angered tone didn't match the concern in his face.

"I can't," he whispered, so that only the distance between him and her could sufficiently deliver his words.

The distance between Kisara's eyebrows had lifted, and her eyes slightly widened as she started wondering if he was referring to someone she knew, or maybe, just maybe, even herself. Her mouth would've cracked open if someone else hadn't broken the awkwardness in the room.

"Soooo…I brought the newest addition of Dungeon Dice Monsters and several other stuff from Kame Game Shop!" Yugi cheerfully announced, distracting just about everyone else.

Kisara broke away from her stance and joined the others, leaving Kaiba to reluctantly follow her stead moments later.

* * *

"Dis beats!" Joey whined as he sprawled across the floor after the group had played approximately five different games.

"Joey's got a point, haha," Serenity agreed as she rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed to state why.

"Seto...calm down," Mokuba nervously laughed as he outstretched his arm and patted Kaiba's back.

"Not until I kill Yugi," Kaiba said as he gritted his teeth while glaring at his opponent, "Your move, Yugi. Unless, of course, you might as well admit defeat."

"Joey, your leg is getting in my way of victory," Yugi nudged his friend's leg off as his eyes were firmly planted onto his cards, "You can eat your own words, Kaiba."

"Who knew Exploding Kuriboh could get this intense," Kisara chuckled as she watched the remaining two survivors play head to head. It was sort of cute to see the old rivals clash in other games aside from Duel Monsters.

"Frankly, this Yugi-Kaiba showdown at the end of every game is getting tiring," Mai moaned as she took a wine bottle and poured a shot for herself, "But I guess that only shows who the two biggest game geeks are in this room."

"Pour me one, Mai," Kisara sighed as she settled onto the couch.

"Me too," Joey, Serenity, and Mokuba simultaneously said out loud.

Mokuba added, "After those two finish killing each other off, maybe we should play something that's super quick and easy."

"Like what?" Kisara asked as she nearly drank her shot. Before she could, Kaiba abruptly had laid his cards down seconds ago and darted toward her, grabbing her shot glass. She blinked a couple times, confused by his sudden move. Everyone else had the same level of bewilderment, as it seemed extremely weird that Kaiba had decided to interact more with Kisara.

"Are you crazy?" Kaiba asked as he placed the shot glass on the end table adjacent to the couch, "You do realize you still have the rest of the week as my tournament's host, right? I am not paying an alcoholic to represent my company on live television."

"I barely drank anything. Besides, it all gets slept off," she argued as she reached for the shot glass. His hand quickly darted to capture her wrist, but as soon as his fingers touched her bony wrist, the two seemed to share an electric shock that shot through both their arms. Both eyes widened as they immediately retracted arms.

"Kisara?" Serenity worriedly said as she sidled up to her best friend, pulling Kisara's head to her shoulder as she rubbed her back affectionately. She could feel the other woman tremble underneath her, and it absolutely frightened the auburn haired girl.

"What did you do this time around, eh, Kaiba?" Joey had stood up from his previous sprawl. One fist was curled as he his voice raised, "I swear, something goes wrong every time you're around!"

"Back down, Wheeler," Kaiba shot back, "I didn't do anything to her." But he only half-believed his own words. He had a sickening feeling that he _was_ the cause, although it had to be indirectly.

"Den how would you explain Kisara's current condition, eh? We all saw you touch her wrist, Kaiba," Joey pointed toward Kisara. Kaiba followed his finger's line of direction, seeing that her mass of white hair completely covered her face as she nestle into Serenity's neck. Her head had an unnatural tremor.

"I don't see how touching someone's wrist would cause _that_ ," he emotionlessly listed, and it appeared that he didn't share an ounce of pity to the outside eye. Inside, however, there were too many emotions broiling that he normally never comprehended, and the sheer amount of anxiety, worry, and anger translated into an apathetic exterior. From his peripheral, he could see Joey's fist hurling into his way. He could see Yugi and Mokuba scrawling to seize the speedy blonde. For the briefest of seconds, he wondered if he should've fought back, because he didn't.

Kaiba let Joey's knuckles come in contact with his jaw, and the impact was hard enough to knock him squarely onto the ground. Never in his life did he experience such a knockdown, in particular, one from someone he held beneath him. The hardwood floor was unforgiving to the arm that landed first. The initial shock wasn't bad, but as time passed, the pain became growingly obvious in both his jaw and arm. Locks of his hair hid his eyes as he could only stare at the floor, refusing to look up at anyone else in the room.

"Seto!" Mokuba shouted as he started to run toward his brother.

"Don't," Kaiba firmly and audibly said with no trace of emotion. He heard steps stop. Mokuba understood that he didn't want to be helped, that he wanted to get up on his own.

Kaiba lifted his head, and all he could see was chaos in the room. Whatever Joey had delivered with his fist was enough to make his vision slightly dizzy. God, it was absolutely embarrassing. He barely make out Serenity and Mai push Joey toward a room, appearing that they were ready to give the blonde man a good verbal beatdown. Mokuba and Yugi stood frozen in their feet, confused on what they could possibly do. His eyes finally landed on that darn woman. The one who peered at him from the comforts of her couch, with her hand covering her mouth as her eyes were red at the rims. Like that one night in his car, she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"I'll leave," Kaiba said underneath his breath as he slowly tried to get up. Before he knew it, he felt a hand gently interlace through his. He felt a pull that helped him ease his way up. He looked up to see Kisara, face contorted into one of genuine concern. Her face and the familiar warmness that invaded his body every time their skin touched, made him nearly pass out in shame. Once he was stable, he removed his hand from hers and addressed Mokuba, "I'm sorry. For ruining what should have been a fun night for you, Mokuba. I think it's best I leave."

"Wait, Seto, I'm sure things between you and Joey can be settled down quickly. You're still wanted here-"

"They won't," Kaiba interrupted, "I...don't want to be a thorn in anybody's side later. I'm fine."

"I think I'll leave too," Kisara unexpectedly announced as she stood by Kaiba's side. Before Kaiba could question her, she explained, "I'm not feeling well. I should get good sleep. I'm the hotshot host for Battle City, right?"

"But-" Mokuba wanted to continue his plea, but Yugi interrupted him and broke his silence.

"Let them go. It's been hectic for these two," Yugi calmly said. He walked up to Kaiba and patted his shoulder. "You should walk Kisara to her room, Kaiba. Just in case some rabid fan appears and tries to kidnap her while she's not in her best state right now, hm?"

Kaiba raised an eyebrow as he looked to the side where Yugi was. The other man slyly gave him a trademark wink, causing the CEO to roll his eyes. However, he meekly responded, "Sure."

* * *

In the bathroom, Mai pushed Joey against the counter and shouted, "Joey, did we not discuss about thinking with your head instead of your fist?! I thought you stopped that act!"

Serenity crossed her arms and agreed, "I can't stand by you this time, Joey. That was completely unwarranted! It wasn't like Kaiba had a taser or anything! What is up with you?"

"I'm sorry, you guys," Joey apologized as he limply stood against the counter and faced the floor, "I guess I completely went back to my old habits when it comes to dat bastard. I don't expect you two to understand how much I hate him and how he acts, but dat's just how bad he makes me feel."

"Joey," Mai softly said as she outstretched her hands to cup her boyfriend's face. She lifted his head so his eyes could meet hers. Regret was written all over his face. She continued, "You've got to be the bigger man."

"I know, I know," he said. His hands buried his face, and he let them slide down before taking a huge breath. He continued, "And I suppose it has to do with Kisara too. I guess...I really wanna watch out for her, ya know? Serenity, I know she took care of you when I couldn't while you were studying in university."

"Joey…" Serenity whispered.

"I know you studied so hard that you skipped meals and stayed up nights, and I also know Kisara prevented that from happening too often by cooking for you and making sure you hit da hay, even when she had a busy schedule herself. I feel indebted to her, and I guess I made assumptions too quickly and pinned da blame on Kaiba. And it's also…" Joey closed his eyes to pause his sentiments. His last reason seemed too far-fetched for Mai and Serenity to comprehend. It seemed a little too much for himself as well.

In the back of his mind, he thought Kaiba and Kisara's fates were entangled. He was there too, in the Memory World of his long gone friend. He heard of things passed from Yugi, but unlike his best friend, he had slowly grown to believe a more cynical side to their so-called destiny.

She did die because of him after all, and he'd be damned if the universe had something like that in store again.

But that was all in theory. Perhaps his characteristic brotherly overprotectiveness translated to Kisara, and he simply didn't like seeing her hurt.

"Nevermind...that's all. I guess...I got an apology owed to Kaiba," Joey finished.

"You idiot," Mai softly remarked as she pulled Joey into a tight embrace, to which Joey jokingly made choking noises in response. She pulled back and pressed her index finger against his lips as she spoke, "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't such an honest man, Joey Wheeler. You might act before you think, but you've got heart men like Seto Kaiba don't have."

"Ahem," Serenity coughed as she waved her hand, "Little sister awkwardly standing here and might just throw up in the toilet?"

Mai laughed as she released one arm to embrace it around Serenity. She cheerfully announced, "I love both Wheelers the same!"

"I hope you don't share da bed with her like you do with me," Joey remarked.

"JOEY, EW!" Serenity shrieked in half-disgust and half-amusement.

The three transitioned toward the living room, where they found both Mokuba and Yugi huddled over what seemed like Dungeon Dice Monsters.

"Where's Kaiba?" Joey asked as he darted back and forth throughout the living room, "Kinda hard for him to hide here since he's such a giraffe."

"He left," Mokuba said, too focused on figuring his move to go in detail.

"Where's Kisara?" Serenity asked as well as she sidled up next to her boyfriend, resting her head against his shoulder.

"She left with him," Yugi stated, eyes glued to the board game.

"WHAT?!" Joey, Serenity, and Mai simultaneously shouted in shock.

"Take your eyes off the game, you two," Mai demanded as she crossed her arms, "Is there something going on between Kaiba and Kisara? Don't tell me what they're saying about Kaiba in the tabloids is true."

"Da ones with Yugi?" Joey asked in confusion.

" **NO!** " Yugi and Mai exclaimed, with the former's face ripening in tomato red. Mokuba and Serenity huddled over in a heap of howling laughter at the mere concept.

Mai explained, "The ones that say he's interested in her all because she resembles the color scheme of his dragon or whatever. They also say it's because it was completely unexpected he chose a nobody as host, so he had to have some personal attraction. It's kind of freakish when I think about it." She shuddered to exaggerate her feelings.

"Oh hell no!" Joey protested and jabbed a finger toward Mokuba's direction, "Tell your brother dat Kisara's already got someone she already loves dat's 1000 times better than him! I think..."

"I'm pretty sure Seto's not that shallow when it comes to women," Mokuba half-smiled and continued, "And he already knows. Pretty sure he wouldn't steal someone's girl."

"Pretty sure he couldn't get one even if he wanted to," Yugi muttered underneath his breath as he recalled his little office chat sessions with the CEO.

"Eh?" Joey cocked his head and asked, "How do you know, Mokuba?"

"Seto told me," Mokuba shrugged, "I think he learned from her."

"That's so weird," Mai remarked, "I wouldn't expect her to say something so personal to him. They must be closer than we think."

"Do you think he knows who her boyfriend is?" Serenity asked everyone, "She keeps saying she has to keep his identity a secret because of his job. He's supposed to be this super private guy."

"Beats me," Joey slouched onto the couch as he continued, "But I want to meet him. I only hear good things about him from Kisara, but you don't know a man from someone's mouth. Gotta meet him in person in case he's secretly an ass."

"I'm sure he's not," Serenity reassured, "I know Kisara has good judgement."

"Wow, did everyone in this room have an S.O.?" Yugi sighed as he took a break from the game, "You guys make me feel exceptionally single right now."

"Don't worry, Seto hasn't scored yet either," Mokuba remarked.

"Eh," Joey abruptly sat straight and addressed Mokuba, "Don't you be countin' my sista' on a scoreboard!"

"Of course not!" Mokuba gave a big grin and wrapped one arm around Serenity, announcing loudly, "I LOVE SERENITY WHEELER!"

"Oh my god," Yugi groaned as he landed smack on his back.

* * *

"Are you...fine?" Kaiba awkwardly asked as the elevator doors shut, and he found himself forced into a confined space with Kisara.

"Huh?" Kisara turned her head to face him, but she found herself still unrecovered from her initial dizziness. She placed one hand against the walls of the elevator and placed the other against her eyes. Eventually she turned back and said, "Yeah."

"You literally cannot lie about your current condition," Kaiba said in bewilderment.

When the elevator stopped at Kisara's floor, the slight force from the stop caused Kisara to start toppling over. Kaiba swiftly maneuvered to her side and caught her falling figure. Her head fell squarely into his chest, and one whiff of her intoxicating scent made him hold his breath. One hand squeezed her shoulder, and the other wrapped around her waist. It wasn't normal at all, the way he held her so close because of unwanted panic. He didn't have to hold her so close.

God, she was thin. And maddeningly cozy.

Kisara's eyes bolted wide open as she scrambled out of arms, which weren't incredibly tight in the first place. Her flustered face was red with embarrassment as she started stumbling outside the elevator.

He silently followed her, afraid she would fall on the way to her hotel room. She fumbled around with her purse for her hotel key card, and the jingling of the insides of her purse was made apparent when it became clear she was having trouble. He stopped her hand from doing more damage, forcing it to the side. He leaned closer to prod through her bag, searching for the key card, and he ignored her heavy breaths and her blushing face to prevent himself from exploding in whatever emotion he didn't know of.

From her viewpoint, Kisara had the closest viewpoint she could remember thus far of the brown haired man. He was indeed a pretty boy, whose features weren't as hard as his personality. At least, not at the moment. It was weird. Her mind could swear his face was supposed to be different. Maybe in a dream or something. She had a lot of those.

Kaiba's fingers brushed against the ridges of what appeared to be the cap of a bottle of pills. His eyes squinted at the label, unable to really read due to the small font and darkness of her purse. His slight pause forced Kisara to look down at the purse, and hysteria crossed her chest.

"It's in this pocket slot, silly me!" she exclaimed as nervous laughter escaped her throat. She swatted his hand away from the bottle and nimbly pulled out her key card. Quickly turning, she slid the card against the slot of the door and tripped into her room. His hand caught her arm, and she found herself once against at the grasp of him. She heard the door close around her, yet his presence was still there. She slowly turned around to see a rather emotionless face.

"Did you eat?"

Her eyebrows grew closer together, as his question completely threw her off. She eventually answered, "I already had lunch."

Kaiba scoffed and let go of her wrist. He made his way into her one bedroom hotel room, zoning in onto the telephone.

"What are you doing?!" Kisara ran toward him and tried to snatch the phone from his clutches.

He started dialing for room service as he continually waved the phone from her attempts while answering her, "Getting you dinner."

"I said I already ate!" She exclaimed as she refused to back down. As desperate as her attempts were at getting the phone, Kaiba skillfully avoided her maneuvers. The two became involved in a play of cat and mouse.

"You said lunch, not-" Kaiba found himself cut off.

Kisara eventually did get the chance to pounce on her prey, albeit foolishly so. She had cornered him onto the edge of the hotel bed, and one dramatic leap into the air finally accomplished her goal of grasping the phone. However, she failed to pry it from his strong grip. He jerked his hand with the phone far back, making her crash against his body, which in turn caused the two to descend ungracefully into the comforts of the bed beneath them.

The collision between the two was absolutely _horrifying_. Kaiba felt his last breaths escape his soul as Kisara landed smack into his neck. His hand remained on the phone, and hers did too. Her other hand was placed tenderly against his chest, and for some reason, his other arm had automatically laced around her waist. Her quick breaths puffed against his neck, and like that one time in the car, it was _maddeningly_ pleasant and petrifying, like heaven and hell fought against his neck.

Her head raised, but instead of completely getting off, she was suddenly captivated by his face. It was more scarlet than she could possibly theorize his face to ever possess. Her face must have been red too, because the heat of a thousand suns radiated through her pores. She moved herself forward, placing her face parallel to his.

"I think I've seen your face in my dreams," she faintly made out. Her eyes stared into his cobalt blue ones. Like hers, but much more dull.

"I've heard," he blandly replied. He was trying his hardest not to scream. His eyes stared into her lapis ones. Like his, but much more lively.

"But...you're different in them," she softly continued, "I...can't remember well. I...I…."

His eyes left hers and travelled south, past that endearing nose and onto those trembling, perfectly luscious lips struggling to enunciate words.

Before he knew it, water splashed against his face. Her mouth shut tight, and he could make out her gulping from the way the skin of her fine neck moved up and down. He refused to venture north, where he already knew she had shed salted tears.

Salty as some snuck past his lips.

Kaiba could make out the receiver on the other end of the line from the phone. They must have waited for a hot minute. He released his hold on her waist, regained the phone, and gently sat up at the edge of the bed.

Kisara had rolled away from him, choosing to lie on the bed, back facing his. She buried her face against a pillow.

"One ichiran ramen to room 789," he ordered. Once he finished, he rose and placed the phone back to its original position on the end table adjacent to the bed. He stood there for a good couple of seconds, afraid to turn around. He hated fear.

"I'm going to shower," Kisara announced as she pulled away from her pillow and started collecting her pajamas.

"Mm," he made out.

* * *

The ramen had arrived fairly fast, and Kisara had finished her shower relatively the same time.

The two sat at a small round table in the room, with Kaiba trying his best to be engrossed into his phone and Kisara filling the room with sounds of slurping noises.

"Why do you hate Joey so much?" she suddenly asked.

"It's complicated," he hastily answered.

"He really does care for the children he works with. It's a noble profession," she insisted as she continued eating her ramen.

"I have a bad streak with social workers," he remarked, continuing to look at his phone.

"Ah…" she said with a gulp. Kisara tapped her chopsticks against her chin, unsure if she should pry anymore. Clearly he had his privacies.

Instead, she asked, "So...CEO at age fourteen is kind of interesting."

"Tch," he clicked his tongue and glanced over at her, "You're just making small talk at this point. That's a fact well-known in every article about me. Don't act like you heard it the first time from my mouth."

"I suppose you're right," she observed, "But I find it funny how those articles exaggerate how brilliant you are for being so young."

"Is it not?" He scoffed.

"I guess I just find it sad," she wistfully said as her eyes cast down to her bowl of half-eaten ramen, "You grew up too fast."

"I had to, and it was worth it," he firmly said.

"Is it really?" Her eyes lifted to his as she continued, "I don't think it is sometimes."

"You wouldn't know."

"I would."

Silence befell between the two. Kisara continued eating her noodles, but this time, Kaiba watched her intently. After her shower, she had shed all that makeup from this morning. He thought that he liked her more without the makeup, although it had looked nice on her.

More and more, she was revealing parts to herself, and he was finding himself drawn toward her. Her and her story. Who she was. What she did. How she did things.

With one hearty breath, Kisara asked, "So...how much was this?"

"I'll just take it out of your paycheck," Kaiba smoothly answered. He could see her face look at him in disbelief, but it wasn't like he had confessed to already paying for it.

"Thanks…." she slowly said, but she suddenly remarked, "You know, Kaiba, I think you want to be more than just "strangers" with me. Strangers don't pay for other strangers' meals."

"What can I say?" he sarcastically said, "I'm a billionaire philanthropist."

"Strangers don't walk other strangers to their bedrooms," she retorted.

"This is a hotel room covered by yours truly, and I also was allegedly responsible for your little trauma episode back at Mokuba's room. Which, by the way, seems to be a regular thing with you."

"It's not."

"Sure. Are you done lying now?" He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"It'll pass," she softly remarked and reasoned, "Besides, the doctor said I was clear, right?"

"Right…" he faded out.

And suddenly, "doctor" completely destroyed his pleasant mood. Right. That one patient record could completely change his emotions. He couldn't be near her anymore.

"You can leave the empty bowl wherever. The hotel workers will pick it up tomorrow morning," he announced as he got up.

"Leaving so soon?" she teased as she followed him towards the door.

"You seem perfectly fine now," he said back, "And you should get a good night's sleep for tomorrow morning. Battle City is a whole week of stress for us workers."

"But you're the boss."

"I still work."

Kaiba opened the door of her hotel room, but before he left, Kisara tapped his shoulder.

"By the way…what's so hard about telling this one woman something?" she wondered aloud, "You seem like someone who isn't afraid of speaking his mind."

He turned and took a couple of seconds to collect his reasoning. He eventually replied, "This...thing I have to tell her isn't something she could handle at this time."

"Ah...but if it's so important, I'm sure she'd like to know. Women have to know everything," she lightheartedly joked.

"No, I can't...because if I tell her…." he paused, "I think I'd kill her _twice_."

Kisara raised her eyebrow at his intriguing choice of words. She closed her eyes and nodded her head in understanding before concluding, "I suppose you have your reasons. You're a man of logic after all, Seto Kaiba."

"Good night, Amano."

"Good night, Seto," she waved without a thought as she shut her door.

The gust of wind hit his face.

* * *

 ***The talk show with Kisara was recorded before it was broadcast, which is why she was able to be at the get together.**

 **Review Replies**

 **Bleach power:** Haha, I can't wait to write out a showdown with Kaiba and Hamada. (Death by rod sounds fantastic!) Thank you so much for loving this story 3

 **Juella:** I want to clarify for this story that she doesn't know. And yes! I actually really do like imagining Yugi and Kaiba as "friends" later on.

 **Informal Anthropology:** Wow, thank you so much! I hope you continue enjoying this story and all the humor I have left to offer :)

 **Ai Star:** We shall see :)

 **Guest:** Hope you slept, haha! Glad you're enjoying the humor! And nope, haven't quit just yet and don't plan on doing so.


	12. Chapter 11: Twitch

"Reservation under Kaiba."

The woman in front of the well-established Izuki restaurant glanced up toward the looming figure of Seto Kaiba. She smiled politely and wrote a few things on her podium.

"Let us prepare the room for a moment. Please wait," she gestured toward the a line of chairs against the wall.

"Thank you," Kaiba said as he followed her gestures. Once he sat down, he looked outside toward the clustered streets of Domino. Even the rain did nothing to sway duelists from battling in the middle of street, and spectators were nonetheless attracted to each spectacle. Policemen stood on the sidelines, assuring no danger was imposed toward city structures and passing citizens. To think security didn't exist in his first Battle City would've been mind boggling by present day standards, but Kaiba was a reckless teen and the tournament had been installed underneath emergency.

A dark figure came crashing in through the glass doors of the restaurant, breaking Kaiba's thoughts as well. His identity was hidden by his coat that he placed over his head. Residue from the rain dropped from his damp clothes toward the well-polished floors of the lobby.

"I MADE IT!" The figure shouted as he tore off his coat from his head. Identifiable shaggy blonde hair burst through, and the face of Joey Wheeler was revealed.

Kaiba clamped his teeth shut as he bit back any insult that he could've easily commented on about "wet dog." He opened his mouth to say something else, but he found himself incapable of finding other words that weren't insults toward the other man.

" _ **If you say anything with "dog" or "mutt," it's game over. Don't. Just don't."**_

Joey rubbed his wet shoes against the welcome mat, and as he looked toward the rest of the lobby, he caught sight of Kaiba sitting. He furrowed his eyebrows as he observed Kaiba's odd expression. It looked as if the other man was trying to say something from the way his mouth hung open. His left eye twitched as he looked dead straight toward Joey.

"...Hi?" Joey awkwardly waved as he neared toward Kaiba, who finally closed his hanging mouth.

Kaiba shut his eyes momentarily as if to regenerate all his vocabulary. He eventually let out a measly, "Hi."

"So are we waitin' or.…?" Joey asked as he took a seat right next to Kaiba. His fingers drummed against his knees as he suddenly started whistling.

Kaiba turned his head quickly toward Joey, who in turn stared at him back. The brown haired man had the urge to yell at him for being too close. Again, his mouth opened but nothing came out. The proximity between the two was mind numbingly toxic, and that whistling could make him deaf from the way it seemed to amplify by the second.

" _ **If Joey gets close to you, don't freak out. I know you would, but Joey doesn't care who he's next to. If you distance yourself, he'll take it as a sign that you don't like him...I mean I guess you don't already but just stay still!"**_

Joey blinked as he stared into Kaiba's eyes. He stopped his whistling and was once again confused by Kaiba's facial expression. This time, his right eye was twitching, and the tremor in his jaw was more obvious from closer inspection.

"...I can't wait to eat too, Kaiba, but you gotta close dat mouth or all you'll catch are flies," Joey nervously said as he scratched his hair.

The rough sounds made from Joey scratching reminded Kaiba of a dog using its hind leg to free its neck of fleas.

" _ **Seriously...NO dog comments!"**_

Kaiba shut his eyes and closed his mouth again as he fumed inwardly. Soon, thankfully, the woman from before returned and announced their room was ready. He immediately got up and followed her, hearing Joey's footsteps follow dutifully behind.

"We've got two other guests. They will be here shortly," Kaiba mentioned toward the lady, who nodded and shut the door on the way out. The restaurant he chose to dine tonight with Joey, Mokuba, and Serenity was a traditional Japanese one, which had a feature of private rooms for guests to dine inside. He turned around to see that Joey had already seated himself, and he himself went for the chair parallel to him.

" _ **Sit next to him. It'll show that you don't feel as uncomfortable as you let on. Also, it'll be good to have Mokuba and Serenity next to each other. If Joey asks why you chose to sit next to him, say it'll be good that you two face the couple. It'll be like you two are the couple police, he'll love that. You guys are allies for tonight, not enemies."**_

Kaiba took in a deep breath, one that swallowed his pride harder than anytime before in his life. He let go of the chair he planned to originally seat himself and went for the chair next to Joey. He slowly settled himself and picked up the menu.

Joey noticed Kaiba's choice and was truthfully surprised. He turned to Kaiba and mentioned, "I was thinkin' that I sit next to Serenity and you with Mokuba."

Kaiba felt one of his eyes twitch again as he set his menu down. He slowly answered, "I think it would be more intimidating for them if they are forced to view the both of us. I want to interrogate them as much as possible out of this dinner regarding their relationship. They will more likely answer our questions if we both stare them down."

Joey cocked his head as he let Kaiba's words settle into his brain. Kaiba felt...could it be? Nervousness? Near Joey Wheeler? He hoped that Joey bought his reasoning. Frankly, he would rather seat himself ten floors above the blonde man than adjacent or parallel.

"Sheesh, you're as diabolical with dinner stuff as you are with da business stuff…." Joey said in what seemed like a tone of dismay. Kaiba felt a flicker of panic rush against his stomach, but Joey gratefully added, "THANK GOD! I want to wrangle as much information out of them as much as you do! I've been askin' Serenity like everyday about her and Mokuba, and all she does is smile and wave it off."

"...Likewise with Mokuba," Kaiba responded as he hid any trace of relief. His body started to calm down more.

Suddenly, Joey raised a fist offered it toward Kaiba.

" _ **Joey's really into fist bumps. Don't leave him hanging. It's rude."**_

Twitch.

Kaiba curled his hand into a weak fist and grazed the other man's knuckles. Joey gave a wide grin and cheerfully declared, "We're really gonna get 'em tonight!"

"Yeah," Kaiba responded in lackluster. The two reached for their menus and an awkwardness ensued.

" _ **You might recognize that Joey will be overly friendly. If he is, he's most likely feeling guilty about punching you last night. He might still feel prideful about apologizing firsthand, even if Mai and Serenity drilled it into his head. Don't mention the incident directly, but hint it. He should apologize, and that'll lift any recent ill will for dinner."**_

"I made sure Amano was fine before she went to bed last night," Kaiba broke the silence. That same feeling of panic arose when Joey shot him a questionable expression.

In reality, it took a while for Joey to realize who Amano was, so his pause had nothing to do with the content of Kaiba's question. He laughed and said, "Ah, Kisara? I'm relieved. I texted her dis morning, and she said she was fine. But...you know when people say dat sometimes it means da opposite. Good to know she actually is."

Kaiba nodded his head, detecting another episode of awkwardness. However, Joey continued to say, "I...er...wanted to apologize earlier dat night, but I didn't get to because you left. So...I'm sorry, Kaiba. I wasn't thinkin' right and acted out on emotion. I guess it is ridiculous that I assumed you had something to do with her not feeling well."

"It's fine," Kaiba said, but he felt that he should add more, "She seems valuable to you, and Joey Wheeler would fight anyone who at any chance messes with his friends, right?"

Joey blinked. He had the idea that Kaiba was actually attempting to joke with him. He softly smiled and answered, "Yep...that's me - Joey frickin' Wheeler. Kisara's been around me a while ever since she made friends with Serenity back in high school. I appreciate how she looks after Serenity when Mai and I can't."

"That's nice," Kaiba commented as he continued perusing through the menu that he was sure he had read about four times at this point.

"Kaiba?"

"Yes?"

Joey hesitantly poured over his words in his head. He eventually let out, "I know you aren't really fond about da "fate" or "destiny" thing…."

Twitch. Twitch. Twitch.

"...which is why you probably ignored her existence for like a whole ass decade. But now dat you two happen to see each other, has it ever crossed your mind that it's viable? It seems crazy to me because it's been so long since...dat time we visited _his_ memories, but I feel uneasy about it now. I mean, at first, I was all for hookin' you up with her when she transferred to Domino High like the others were because, I mean, we were all like "dat's romantic as fuck and they look hella cute together," but…"

Kaiba made sure he himself was still breathing as he continued listening to Joey's rambling.

" _ **Joey rambles sometimes, and even if it seems long, he's someone who speaks his heart out. So...listen to him. With intent. He'll appreciate you listened."**_

"...your "fate" with her seems double sided. I wish I could wholeheartedly believe that you guys are here again to like romance each other and finish what wasn't back then. However, who's to say the opposite can't happen? Like, what if she... _potentially_ loves you so much dat it kills her again? I mean that's crazy too considering she barely looks your way and she has a boyfriend, but I can't attribute the incident last night to anything _but_ your connection to her."

 _Shut up_ made loops inside Kaiba's head. He was fighting so hard to keep those words at bay, but he had a goal tonight of not crossing the man next to him. Before he could respond, the door to their private room slid open. Relieved, Kaiba looked up.

"Hey bro!" Mokuba and Serenity simultaneously chirped toward their respective siblings as they tumbled in.

* * *

The four dined as they delved into conversations.

"I started being friends with Mokuba last fall at the beginning of my third year at university. We just came across each other one day at a local deli shop. Truthfully, I avoided him at first because I knew he was uh...your brother, Kaiba," Serenity paused as her face got flustered. She wasn't sure if it was fine to joke about the dissonance between her brother and Mokuba's.

"But I reached out to her," Mokuba continued off to save her, "and I started a conversation about sandwiches we liked, and then we ordered each other's favorite sandwiches."

"Turns out I don't like monte cristo sandwiches," Serenity amusingly confessed, "But Mokuba seemed to like my recommendation of a cubano."

"So I made it a point that we meet at the sandwich shop again to find another kind of sandwich she would like," Mokuba added.

"And we started meeting at the sandwich shop regularly...and I guess we started talking about more personal things."

"We eventually ran out of sandwiches to try so we went to other shops like...a bagel shop...a coffee shop…" Mokuba started listing shops as he counted with his fingers.

Kaiba interrupted his brother, "I thought you said you only started dating her like two months ago...in May."

Joey piped in, "Didn't you say like three months ago, Serenity...in April?"

"Does it really matter when?" Serenity laughed nervously.

"What matters is that we're able to be here, eating dinner, in peace," Mokuba insisted as he leaned back in his seat.

"Mm...this sashimi is sooo good," Serenity mentioned as she chewed on one piece. She gave a thumbs up and said, "You're really good at picking places to eat, Kaiba."

Kaiba and Joey shot each other dissatisfied looks. They shook their heads and folded their arms in sync.

"Are you really avoiding the question, Mokuba? This isn't something to joke about," Kaiba firmly said as he glared at his brother.

"Serenity, how am I going to trust you when you lie about something as small as that?" Joey asked as he pointed his chopstick toward his sister, "Although you have a point about the sashimi." His chopsticks redirected to the sashimi plate.

"This is not just about this particular matter, but about future instances. We expect the two of you to be transparent with us," Kaiba added calmly, although his crossed figure looked tense.

"I second that," Joey said through muffled words as he chewed on his food.

It was Mokuba and Serenity's turn to exchange glances with one another, but the two smiled instead. It appeared that their siblings had conducted a temporary alliance, and the mere aspect was actually entertaining to consider.

"...So um," Serenity cleared her throat, "You two would appreciate us being truthful above all else?"

"Regardless of the truth?" Mokuba asked.

"Of course," Joey answered without a thought.

"Well it depends on the truth, really, but yes," Kaiba cautiously decided.

"Well…" Serenity trailed off as she grew increasingly insecure about revealing her plans. She braced herself for a second and eventually opened her mouth, but before she could explain, Mokuba had burst into one fast-paced sentence.

"SerenityandIareplanningtogoonvacationtogethernextweektoOkinawa," Mokuba blurted out suddenly, and his throat got caught up. He reached for his water and started chugging.

" _Who_ are gonna _what_ during _when_ and _where_? _Why_?" Joey asked incredulously as he suddenly stopped chewing, unsure if he heard correctly.

"Absolutely not," Kaiba spoke up as he set his cup down, letting the glass and table make an audible smack.

Serenity nearly jumped out of her seat at the sound. She worded things slower for her brother, "Mokuba and I...plan on going to Okinawa to spend all of next week together."

"Serenity-" Joey was about to disagree, but his sister continued to speak.

"We just want to spend some more time together before we get separated," Serenity quietly explained as her cheeks started to get redder.

Mokuba had finally collected himself. With a tug of his collar, he further added, "I'm leaving for America, and Serenity's leaving for Tokyo. We're both going to be extremely busy soon with me getting adjusted to a different country and Serenity with medical school...just trying to spend the free time we have left to the fullest."

"I wanna go too then," Joey declared as he pointed both his chopsticks at the couple, "Spend time with me too!"

"You have a job, Joey!" Serenity exclaimed.

"I know what happens on a "vacation" with a couple, Mokuba," Kaiba suggested with disdain in his words.

"No you don't, Seto," Mokuba whined, "The only woman you vacationed with was Kisara!"

Kaiba's eyes immediately widened once Mokuba finished. Mokuba soon realized what he just said and slapped his mouth with his hand.

"What _does_ happen on a vacation between a man and a woman, eh, Kaiba?" Joey slowly turned his head toward Kaiba as fake friendliness was voiced. This time, it was Joey's turn to have his eyes twitch. "So...that time she went to Indonesia...because of a KaibaCorp raffle...was with you? She said she had a roommate...and that roommate was...you?"

Kaiba completely avoided Joey's death glare as he picked up some nigiri to eat. He chewed a bit before confidently answering, "Nothing happens. Nothing at all." Although he appeared quite calm on the outside, he was screaming on the inside as he recalled his little vacation a month ago.

"Yah!" Joey shouted as he set his chopsticks down and used a finger to point at Kaiba, who still refused to look back, "What-what other things are you hiding about between you and Kisara?"

"Joey, have some sake, your face is going to explode," Serenity meekly suggested as she started pouring a bottle for her brother. Joey shook his head and refused the glass.

"Y-you're probably the boyfriend she's been hiding all this time!" Joey continued to cry out in his inappropriate volume, "S-she always says she has to keep his identity a secret because of his job and YOU have a pretty high-profile job! A-and she started mentioning him around the time she got hired by you...and all these _blue eyes white waifu_ jokes from the media are getting frequent!"

"Wheeler, I am _not_ dating Amano," Kaiba firmly insisted with annoyance. He motioned Serenity to pour him a glass of sake instead.

"The evidence does kind of line up," Serenity softly spoke as she poured Kaiba a glass. Kaiba gave a look of "you're not helping" that she ignored. She added, "She does complain about having nightmares about you."

"That's not evidence of any kind-" Kaiba was about to make a case for himself, but Mokuba decided to join in as well.

"Maybe it _wasn't_ coincidence that Kisara ended up vacationing with you. Maybe you two pretended it was an accident to fool me," Mokuba said as he cocked his head, "Also, you don't clear your Google history, Seto, so I've seen a lot of "Kisara Amano" searches on the desktop in your office."

"MOKUBA!" Kaiba yelled as his face got red, "That computer is for work. I told you to never touch that!"

"Work, my ass!" Mokuba shouted back.

"Kisara did say he took her to all these nice places, and they all seemed pretty date-like. She complained that he was mean to her about certain things, but maybe that's just her secretly wanting to talk about him," Serenity continued as she rubbed her chin.

"Oh god," Joey moaned as he buried his face into his hands, "Kaiba _is_ dating Kisara, and everything that happened in their past lives is gonna happen again."

"...What?" Mokuba and Serenity stared at Joey in utter confusion.

As if by an uncalled miracle, the door to their private dining room slid open and the hostess walked in. She inquired, "Are you ready for the bill?"

Kaiba wearily looked at the woman, feeling slightly refreshed at a new face. He croaked, "Yes...please."

* * *

" _ **And most importantly...DON'T PAY FOR EVERYTHING! Don't let Joey pay for everything too, but I doubt you'd let that happen. Anyways, split it 50-50 between the two of you, so both your prides are intact."**_

"I'll pay for everything," Joey announced as he snatched the bill. However, his throat became dry as soon as he registered the digits on the small piece of white paper.

"Let's split it," Kaiba said as he pulled out his credit card.

"Yeah…" Joey graciously agreed as he pulled out his own card.

"Those two are adorable when they don't fight," Serenity whispered to Mokuba, who nodded in agreement. The two were relieved that the evening went along well. In the end, their siblings had begrudgingly approved of their vacation, mainly because Serenity had pointed out that Joey had been on a trip once with Mai at their age, and Mokuba had rebounded Seto's long-standing argument about personal rights.

After their brothers finished paying, the four traversed to the lobby, where they said their goodbyes.

"I'll drive Serenity home," Joey said as he started swinging his keys around his finger.

"Mm," Mokuba agreed, "Good night you two. I had a great time. We should have another one of these family dinners before things get crazy for me and Serenity."

"Definitely!" Serenity cheerfully exclaimed as she was being pulled away by Joey.

Joey, however, stopped in his tracks and glanced back. He looked toward Kaiba and stiffly said, "I want a family dinner with you and Kisara. Stat."

The Wheelers departed.

* * *

Kaiba and Mokuba returned to their hotel. Just as the two had gotten into their elevator, someone had popped her hand in between the doors to prevent them from closing. Kisara had suddenly burst in and started breathing heavily. She jabbed her floor number before turning around and greeting the Kaiba brothers in an exasperated tone.

"Hiiii….how are you two? It's been really busy for me, haha. A lot of running in the city and trying not to fall off from dragon jets. The usual."

Mokuba smirked as he side-eyed his brother, who only rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He replied, "We were busy too earlier today but things simmered down with dinner. I'm sure you've heard from Serenity."

Kisara grinned and nodded her head, "Of course!" She redirected her attention to Kaiba and asked, "I'm guessing my advice regarding Joey helped you out today, Kaiba?"

Kaiba consciously felt his saliva slide down his throat as Mokuba shot him a bemused expression. He cleared his throat and answered, "Yes. It did. Thank you."

The elevator stopped and its doors opened.

"That's a relief," Kisara delightedly sighed and waved off, "Well, we should get breakfast together for the rest of the week like today then. Good night, you guys!"

"Night!" Mokuba said back as Kaiba stayed silent.

Once the elevator doors closed, Mokuba immediately turned to Kaiba and mocked in a girly voice, "Ohhh, _Seto,_ how do you like your eggs?"

"Mokuba, I'm going to pop a vessel if you don't stop," Kaiba declared, but he was only greeted by Mokuba's bellow as the two exited the elevator.

"Well what's this thing with breakfast, then?"

Kaiba sighed and explained, "I happened to meet her at breakfast downstairs this morning. We got to talking about dinner plans, and she gave me advice about how to deal with Wheeler."

"Ah. Well...that must've been good advice because you sure pulled through this evening," Mokuba happily commented. He put one hand on his brother's shoulder and sincerely said, "Thank you, Seto. I really appreciate that you're trying. I really do love Serenity, and I know I say that a lot so it probably seems like I don't. But...I care that even our brothers will get along eventually."

"Tch...I'm still not friends with him," Kaiba concluded. However, he felt some weight in his heart lift. He pulled out his hotel key card and unlocked his suite. Before he entered, however, he looked back at his brother, "Mokuba...I really am not the one who's dating Amano."

"Aw, really? Really, really?" Mokuba asked as he too had unlocked his suite.

"Yes. Really, really," Kaiba answered, dead serious.

"That's a shame," Mokuba sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I was already prepping so many jokes to poke at you. Agh! Get a girlfriend so I can make fun of you, bro! Before I get my own gravestone!"

"Haha, good night, Mokuba," Kaiba said as he started to go inside his room.

"Wait, what about that "past lives" thing Joey was groaning about?" Mokuba quickly probed as he stuck one head out his room.

"He was drunk."

"Fair enough."

As he shut his door, Kaiba wished he could shut a certain someone out too.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Yikes...I need to shorten my chapter lengths, but I'm having a lot of fun with writing this.

 **Review Responses**

 **Ai Star:** Yeah, poor Kaiba honestly. But it'll be worse for Kisara lmao

 **Bleach power:** Thank about last chapter! I really do want to include other characters' thoughts, but I'm scared if I include too much that it gets crazy long, haha!


	13. Chapter 12: Choice

**Author's Notes:** I am planning to change the title of this story, but I've kept the old one as not to confuse current readers. I have changed the description, so next update, new chapter with the current description.

Also, this chapter was a headache for me, but I hope it isn't for you readers.

* * *

He had no clue why he was awake earlier than he had to be. Not even the sun was out as he stared into the toaster in the breakfast vicinity, arms crossed, and appearing incredibly impatient.

"Is the toaster too slow? You should totally fire it."

Kaiba unfolded his arms and turned to see Kisara walking toward him, clad in another suit with the same brooch attached to her lapel. A bright smile was on her face, perhaps a little too bright for how early it was.

He returned to his staring contest with the toaster as he replied, "Can't. I think it has something valuable I want."

Kisara let out a little snort and commented, "How weird."

"What?"

"Yesterday you told me to shut up and said my voice was more annoying than your alarm clock, and look at you now, responding to my jokes," she happily pointed out.

"I'd hardly call that a joke," he scoffed. As soon as he said that, the stopper for the toaster beeped, and the two pieces for his bagel popped up. He took the pieces, placed them on his plate, and slid to the next display, where the cream cheese was.

"Well good morning to you too, Mr. Sunshine," Kisara said as she followed him, intently watching him make his bagel. She continued, "You're not the only one that can use sarcasm."

"But I'm apparently the only one who can properly use it," he quickly responded as he took a knife and started to open cream cheese packets.

"Ah, forgive meeeee. I have besmirched the ancient rites of sarcasm," she mocked in a nearly believable apologetic tone, to which Kaiba momentarily paused his bagel-making to look to his side and stare her down. He squinted _hard_ into her eyes, enough to seem like he was judging her entire life. Kisara stared back, and all she could do in response was smile in amusement toward his vacant expression. She asked, "So are you going to sit with me again?"

Kaiba returned to his bagel and replied, "I don't know. I have no use for you now that I've tamed the mutt."

"If you don't, you'll hurt my feelings," she teased as she leaned closer to him, although more so to peer at his bagel-making.

"Tragic," he quipped. He leaned slightly toward the opposite direction.

"Not as tragic as the way you're spreading that cream cheese," she nearly doubled over as she noticed the way he struggled with the knife. Uneven globs of the cream cheese failed to be thinned out.

"Be my guest," he suggested as he stopped, set everything on his plate, and gestured toward it, "Forgive me. I have besmirched the ancient rites of bagelism, for it is extremely pertinent that the cheese be spread evenly. Because it's going to make a huge difference when I eat it."

"You could've just said please," Kisara shook her head and took matters into her own hands. A smile remained on her lips from Kaiba's mocking. She raised one piece of the bagel with messy cream cheese already on it, took the knife in her other hand, and started demonstrating, "It's all in the wrist. It's also kind of satisfying, isn't it?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes before taking the knife back from her. He said, "Get your breakfast. I'll join you."

Kisara nodded her head, and before she left to get her own food, she mentioned, "Tastes pretty good if you add tomatoes, onion slices, and avocado."

He found himself focusing intently on getting the cream cheese evenly across the circular surface of the bagel at hand, for far too long. However, he found that when he _did_ spread the cheese evenly, it was kind of therapeutic. After he finally finished his menial task, he nearly left, but his eye caught tomato slices in one area. He quickly snagged whatever ingredients she had recommended, took his plate, and scoured the eating area for Kisara. It wasn't difficult, as there were only about three others.

He neared the booth she decided to sit at, and he found her in a most peculiar position. Her hand covered her mouth tightly, and she was breathing at an abnormal pace. Her face was scarlet as her eyes widened at her other hand, which held a tight grip on her phone. Kaiba slowly settled into seat across, placing his plate softly against the table.

"Are you oka-"

His question was quickly cut off by Kisara's sudden movements. She had released her hand from her mouth, setting off an incredibly loud laughter. She could barely contain herself, shoving her phone across toward Kaiba, and burying her head into her folded arms.

"Why are you so loud?!" Kaiba harshly whispered as he caught hold of her phone. He held his head low and used his other hand to cover his face from the other three people that momentarily glanced toward their direction. He looked down toward her phone, recognizing a series of unanswered texts from "kangaroofetus."

 _yo. kisara. U awake? If ur not, then answer me asap in the morn._

… _.u know the bf you've been hidin?_

 _Is it…_

 _I aint disappointed in ur choice, just questioning it but_

 _I mean is it_

 _Im literally fighting serenity off rn but_

 _ARE YOU DATING KAIBA?!1!1_

 _Answer meeeeeeee_

 _Pleeeeeeeease_

 _I gotta knooooooooooow or i cant sleeeeeeep_

Kaiba's face grew warmer as he continued scrolling down. Eventually, he got to the point where there was only a string of crying kuriboh emojis. He parted his lips, finding himself difficult to suddenly communicate. Eventually, he weakly made out, "Is 'kangaroofetus' Wheeler?"

Kisara peeked her head toward her breakfast companion, working her way to sitting properly. She started fanning her face, as if to wave off her feelings of embarrassment. She remarked, "Is Joey basing his theory on the same rumors that people have been throwing at me all week? He can't just freak out over _that_." She took her spoon and dipped it into her yogurt bowl, barely keeping herself together when she placed it into her mouth.

"He arrived to that conclusion during last night's dinner," Kaiba answered as he lifted his bagel to his mouth, "Frankly unevidenced." Before he took a bite, he slid her phone back to her.

"How?" She raised her brow, "I thought the mission was to investigate Serenity and Mokuba."

"Indonesia...slipped out," he explained, to which a look of panic crossed Kisara's face. He lowered his bagel and continued, "The two kids were trying to convince us to go on a trip next week. Mokuba…didn't mean to, but he was trying to prove a point with me. I think he forgot Joey was in the room."

"Kids," Kisara chuckled at Kaiba's choice of words to describe Serenity and Mokuba. She thought it was quite endearing that Serenity and Mokuba seemed to value their siblings' opinions as if they were parents. It seemed natural, however, that such parallels existed between the two families from the way circumstances had treated them. She rubbed her chin and said, "I mean it is just Joey. He wouldn't tell a soul…say do you want to mess with him?"

"Sure, why not?" Kaiba finally got into his bagel. Before he could ask how, he heard a click and glanced up to realize she had just snapped a photo of him. He nearly choked on his bagel as he quickly consumed his bite. "The hell are you doing?" He demanded as he set his bagel down.

"I'm going to make him go insane the moment he wakes up and sees this photo," she mischievously declared as she showed him the photo she took. It was a candid shot of him looking down at his bagel and biting into it. She grinned and gleefully asked, "Should I caption this, 'breakfast with my _**bae**_ gel?' I promise I'll tell him it's a lie right after he responds."

Kaiba winced at her attempts at a pun. They were as bad as Yugi's, but he would give her the benefit of the doubt. He smirked and replied, "I think you should tell him _tomorrow_. Thinking about Wheeler squirming for an entire day will make me feel better."

"Will do," Kisara cheerfully noted as she finished sending her messages to Joey. She set her phone down and asked, "Well, how did things go yesterday?"

"I think you can conclude that the evening went smoothly," he dully responded, unwilling to spare her every detail that his brother and Serenity chose to share. If anything, she probably knew _more_ about them as a friend instead of a parental figure.

"Look at you," she mused, "Listening and actually following someone's advice."

Kaiba nearly bit his tongue off the moment she said that. He quickly retorted, "And it will be the last time."

"But you still did."

"For the sake of my brother's sanity."

"I suppose," she reasoned as she started playing around with her yogurt bowl. One hand rested against her cheek, and she looked quite weary staring into the fruity contents of her bowl. She looked up and inquired, "May I ask for a personal opinion from you?"

Kaiba returned her gaze, although he continued taking bites from his well-made bagel. He only raised his eyebrows as he continued chewing, which gave enough indication for Kisara to ask.

"I'm curious. What do you _really_ think about Mokuba and Serenity? I…" she hesitated as she raised a scoop of yogurt and let the contents drip back into the bowl, "don't get the feeling that you approve of them, although you _try_ to appear like you're interested to appease your brother."

Kaiba consumed the last bit of his bagel. He set his plate aside and answered, "They're both well-accomplished by their own merits. I don't look down on Wheeler's sister. She's a nice girl, and I'm sure she makes Mokuba happy."

"But?" She scooped more of her yogurt, this time letting the liquid consistency lap at the tip of her tongue.

"But they're parting ways. I don't think they - no, _Mokuba_ , fully grasps how hard it will be to keep an overseas relationship. He's foolish for leading her on, but I suppose he can't help it. It's his first serious deal. He'll think things will be fine, and they _will_ be. At first. Video calls will be frequent, as if that could substitute face-to-face. But eventually they'll be consumed by their lives. Medical school is demanding, and a new culture is daunting. They'll reach a point when they realize other responsibilities are at hand, and because they're separated by a whole ocean, will learn to forget caring for the other," he smoothly delivered, unyielding in his glare.

Kisara gulped on her yogurt, feeling it hit her gut in a stream of uneasiness in company of Kaiba's words. She looked down at her bowl and said, "That's only a stereotype of long-distance."

"It's only a reality."

"Was it _your_ reality?" She shot back as her eyes returned to his. He had froze. Unlike how he had been their entire conversation, it seemed now that he was contemplating to answer her simple question. Perhaps it was the act of answering her that was difficult, and not the answer. She fully expected him not to answer her.

"Yes," he, to her surprise, uttered, with his eyes diverting hers. He added, "I'll let Mokuba have his fun now, but things will be different once he gets back from his vacation. It'll save him from wasting his time on her."

"You're not seriously going to find some way to break them up...are you?" Kisara's eyes widened as she found herself in disbelief.

"Are you going to warn Serenity or something? Because I think it's in your best interest to agree with me," he said in a nondescript manner. He waited. He waited for her to blow up in his face.

But she didn't. Her voice was soft as she remarked, "I'm not going to tell her, but I don't agree with you."

"As her best friend I would think that you-"

"It wouldn't matter if I told her or not, because she's in love. She wouldn't listen...even if her best friend said so," she cut him off.

He could have laughed at her statement. It was purely comical that she interrupted his sequence in order to say such feasible words, but her shift from a friendly disposition to a serious one made him refrain.

"Can I ask you something else?"

He stayed silent.

"Did you _love_ her?"

He was confronted with a question that lurked beneath the surface of his more important thoughts. It was something he had buried a thousandfold, and now this woman had managed to uncover remnants of a repressed past. He thought to laugh it off, and dismiss her like he would toward anyone who tried to excavate his history, but, much to his own hatred, he stayed silent.

"I'm sorry if I'm just making assumptions at this point," Kisara carefully said, "You're a sound man with firm beliefs, but even _you_ were too in love to follow your own advice with that woman."

I don't think you're watching out for Mokuba's best interests, you're just trying to protect yourself."

Kaiba finally broke his silence, "From _what_?"

Kisara's focus never broke. She let go of the spoon of her yogurt and pushed the bowl to the side before blurting, "From the reality that you were _weak_."

"Weak? You're joking, right?"

"You _fell_ for someone, enough to faithfully cross nations for her, and God forbid Seto Kaiba ever fall on his knees for anyone, because loving someone probably means selling a soul for you."

"My life would be better if she never happened in the first place. Mokuba's will be too if he just cuts Serenity off before it's too late," he remained unyielding to her speculation, as frighteningly close as she was.

"You think persuading your brother to break things off with Serenity will help ease the fact that you didn't with that woman, _don't you_? You want to erase her so badly from your memory that you're willing to manipulate others with the smallest resemblance to your situation. She hurt you so much that she's even haunting you."

" _She's_ haunting _me_?" Kaiba couldn't wrap his head around her sentiments, although he had a gut feeling he needed someone for the longest time. However, her last assumption was so ironic coming from her that it was the only substance that he could properly register. If she only knew his dreams were invaded by the same person talking to him across a booth.

"You _loved_ someone who wasn't your brother. Was that so bad?"

"Yes. It _is_ bad!" Kaiba burst, his eyes widening as he desperately defended himself, "It's the most _miserable_ feeling in the whole damn world, and I would rather cut my own heart out, and have it chopped for Wheeler's kibble than to relive what happened. Don't even try to convince me otherwise."

Her mouth opened once again to say something else, but Kaiba interjected her, "I said **don't**."

Kisara pursed her lips. It was obvious that he had reached his limit with her. As much as she wanted to desecrate the impervious psychology of Seto Kaiba, she didn't want to overstep her boundaries. She struggled to find other words, something to shift their conversation, but all she could think of only pointed back to the topic at hand. Before she could utter a thought, the man across from her had already said something.

"Eat your damn yogurt, Amano," he harshly ordered. He, at this point, had to veer the conversation to save himself.

"I'm sick of it," she argued, eyeing the lumpy consistency she had set aside.

"Then get something you actually like. My bagel was delicious. You know what tastes good, so why bother with that?"

"There's this one modeling agency I've been looking into. It pays a lot," she explained, "If I lose some pounds with this new diet, I think I have a chance."

Kaiba thought she was insane. All her talk about losing weight completely irked him, especially when she wasn't exactly overweight in the first place. He sighed, "Do you work out?"

"I haven't had the time. Or a gym. Which is why I've just been dieting."

"Correction. Starving," he scowled, "If you want to be a model for long, it's not going to turn out well if you just starve yourself. Weight is kept off by exercise and a healthy diet. Stomach issues and death, however, are achieved from famine."

"Modeling is temporary," she chuckled, "After my beauty fades, it's game over. But if I score good gigs in that short time, I'll have enough money to do whatever I want."

"You're going to drop dead in about a year at this rate, and you'll still be dirt poor," he insisted.

"Working out is no fun without a friend," she whined as she set her head against the table.

"I didn't need a friend to get fit myself."

"All the articles online say you bought your abs," she muttered as she lifted her eyes toward him, but slowly went back to staring at the table.

"You can't buy abs."

"Yes you can. There's surgeries out there, and you probably went to some foreign country in your stupid dragon jet, and got that stupid fancy abs procedure…."

"Come to the hotel gym tomorrow morning."

"...and probably got a nose job too because your nose is so perfectly tall-what?" Kisara lifted her head, unsure if she heard him correctly.

Kaiba let out a big sigh and said, "You're wasting your time in a dining room if you're not even eating."

"It's not really wasting time if you have someone to talk to," she mentioned, but added, "Even if we argue."

"Right," he paused. For some reason, what she said made him feel...special. He pushed that feeling aside and firmly stated, "Well I don't care if you come or not. I'd rather work out this early in the morning than to eat with someone who can't even down yogurt."

"I'll be there if you'll be there," she gleefully declared as she folded her hands together, "Sounds like fun!"

* * *

"...Kaiba. This isn't fun at all."

It was Thursday morning, and instead of breakfast in the wee hours, the two had opted for the gym. Instead of downstairs, the state of the art gym was placed at the very top of the hotel. Best of all, no one else was crazy enough to exercise at such an early time. Kaiba perched on one flat bench as he looked toward his gym partner, who was, for lack of better words, _pathetic_. He had told her to run for about half an hour on the treadmill, but with only ten minutes that passed, she had stopped the machine and paused to inhale deep breaths. Her hand zoned in on her water bottle, and she started chugging as if it were the last fresh source on Earth.

"I never promised fun," he scoffed, unable to believe her lack of athletic ability, "When was the last time you ran?"

"Hopefully now," she blurted as she turned around to leave the treadmill.

Kaiba abruptly stood up and walked over toward her. He placed his hands on each arm of the treadmill as she nearly walked off, preventing her escape. Kisara widened her eyes as she felt her nose nearly hi his chin. Because she was on higher ground while on the treadmill, she was able to see him better face-to-face rather than the usual looking up. She gulped as she found herself staring closer face-to-face than ever. Her foot idled back.

He leaned forward as she stepped her foot back and lowly said, "Are you seriously giving up after ten minutes?"

"Kaiba, I'm _tired_. I spent all day yesterday walking around the city to catch film of various duels _and_ trying not to fly off the back of some of your flying dragon arenas _and_ -"

"Not eating?" He sneered toward her excuses. She looked away from him, knowing full well she couldn't lie to his face without literally breaking a sweat. He sighed, let go of the treadmill, and walked a couple steps back. He raised one finger toward her and said, "This is your problem. You have virtually no energy to expend on exercise because you're not eating enough."

"Well it's gotten me thin-"

"Amano, what was your fat percentage on the damn body analysis?"

Kisara grit her teeth as she was forced to recall the first couple moments they had stepped into the gym. He had made her have her body analyzed by some fitness machine that attested for health, and he himself had taken the pleasure to tear into every single statistic that could describe her physical being. Truthfully, she wasn't really listening when he went over the significance of each numerical figure of her body. She was distracted by the fact that he now had weirdly personal information about her fat content.

"Yeah, too high in comparison to your muscle mass," he answered himself as it was clearly obvious she didn't want to answer him, "Which, as I've said before, isn't good regardless of how thin you are. Which is why I'm making you do cardio. Which, by the way, you clearly can't do if you don't eat!"

"Well if I can't do it, then why should I keeping going?" she scowled as she mentally combed for more arguments to unfold.

"Because _I'm right here_ ," he firmly declared as he crossed his arms.

Kisara furrowed her eyebrows, but she wasn't confused by his sentiments. Rather, she could swear he had said those exact same words a while ago, but she couldn't pinpoint when and where. Her heart lurched as she hopelessly tried to figure out why such a bland statement had such a haunting impact on her mind.

"-and since I am, I'm going to make sure you don't leave until you finish thirty minutes of running on that damn treadmill. If you're so passionate about looking good for that modeling agency, then do the right thing. Unless of course, you're just another sniveling, spineless liar who just-"

"Ok, ok!" Kisara exclaimed as she held up her hands. She softly smiled and remarked, "I'll do it, gosh. You're so mean to me right now, I almost feel like Joey."

"...At least Wheeler could save himself from getting shipped to the pound by running long enough from the dogcatcher," he pointed out.

"Well I could save myself too," Kisara mumbled as she started up her treadmill, "I'd be so cute as a dog that I'd get adopted right on the spot."

"Keep telling yourself that, Amano," he shook his head and returned to his own workout routine.

After thirty minutes flew by, although it felt like a millenia for Kisara, she smashed the stop button on her machine and toppled on her way off. She inhaled and exhaled harder than she could remember, placing her hands on her crouched knees. She could feel her sweat even drip into her mouth and flowing through just about every pore. Soaked, she grabbed for her towel and started drying her face. As she wiped the towel down, she was greeted with a horrendous image of her gym partner.

Kaiba had finished what she thought were pull ups on the bar. He too had stopped, but instead of opting for his towel, he used the bottom of his loose white tee to wipe excess sweat off his forehead. He lifted enough to show his chiseled stomach, enough to make Kisara suddenly recall a time she thought she had already discarded. She stood frozen, with the towel only covering her mouth as her eyes ogled at him.

Kaiba pulled his shirt back down, and caught her gaping at him from across the room.

"What's wrong with your face?" He pointed out as he walked over to her. His closing proximity sent shivers down Kisara's spine. When he was about two feet away, she suddenly flung her towel smack into his face.

"D-don't come near me...c-can't erase...nudes," she shuddered as she turned around and buried her face inside her hands. She tried her hardest to forget that one moment in the villa, when she first walked in and was unpleasantly surprised.

Kaiba felt the moist towel. The initial shock paralyzed him for a couple of seconds, and he couldn't, for the life of him, remember the last time someone had treated him this way. With his index finger and thumb, he pinched the towel wet with her sweat off his face and let it drop to the floor.

"Straighten your body," he instructed with a husk tone as she heard a loud smack from behind.

Kisara peeked behind to see that he had measuring tape in his hands, and looking up, she discovered a displeased Kaiba. She nervously grinned and asked, "W-what?"

He rolled his eyes and replied, "I have to take your measurements. We're going to do strength training, and I need to know which areas we need to work on."

"You're really taking this personal trainer role seriously, aren't you?" she tensely asked, but she turned around and straightened her body. As he whirled the measuring tape around her shoulder area, she took a good look at his face again. His eyes were constantly downcast as he carefully aligned the measuring tape. She held her breath as she find herself entranced by his figure again, although it wasn't necessarily a romantic attraction she harbored for his face. It was rather a puzzle she was missing a piece of.

"Arms."

Kisara blinked, unable to understand him. He noticed her stupor, rolled his eyes, and started lifting one arm of hers by himself. He started measuring the circumference of her biceps, and she started taking a reality check. If someone had told her Seto Kaiba would be taking her body measurements months ago, she would have died from laughing in disbelief.

"...Kaiba, aren't you going to write these measurements down?"

As soon as she asked, he proceeded to taking in her waist. She let out a small yelp from surprise at his transition. He lifted his eyes toward hers and asked, "Too tight?"

She silently shook your head in disagreement and immediately looked down toward his hands. They were nicely shaped, as nice as hands could get she supposed. His fingers were long and slender, and his veins protruded well.

"I can send you the measurements later. I have them memorized," he curtly informed her as he unhooked the measuring tape from her waist, "Legs."

Kisara bit her bottom lip and leaned one leg forward. He wrapped the tape around the calf. He motioned for her other leg and did the same. He stood up and offered the measuring tape toward her, instructing, "You can measure your own thighs and er - gluteus," he lingered on the last word. Hesitation ran through him before uttering, "I suppose chest is optional. That won't really get bigger. Or smaller. Regardless, they're fine...I mean I'm just going to log in your current measurements on my phone and send them to you after you finish the rest."

For a moment she caught a flicker of embarrassment across his face, but he had already whipped out his phone and started typing away. Despite her own embarrassment, she smiled to herself and started measure her thighs and...gluteus. Afterwards, she reported her numbers, excluding her chest size.

"Do you need my number? To send those?" she inquired.

"I was going to transfer my notes through bluetooth connection," he bluntly stated.

"Oh," she scratched her head and looked around for her phone, "Hold on, I left it on the treadmill."

"Actually, number might not be bad so you can check it later-" he trailed off as he saw her already start heading toward the treadmill. She suddenly paused.

"Oh...um….I need it anyway for music later," she anxiously laughed as she quickly retrieved her phone. Once she returned, she unlocked her phone and suddenly forgot what she was doing.

"Number or bluetooth?" he reminded her.

Kisara found herself in uncertainty, dumbfounded by how she couldn't make such an easy decision. She said, "Erm...I don't really care? Either way works."

Kaiba scoffed at her indecision. Without a word, he snatched her phone from her hand and started dialing his own number. Once his phone rang, he clicked the decline sign and gave her phone back.

"There, I just sent it. It's my personal number, so don't go around flaunting it. Delete it if you must."

"Got it," she smiled as a text message popped up from a new number. She was going to have a fun and frustrating time trying to find a nickname for him.

"Alright," he cleared his throat and continued, "After analyzing your stats, I think it's obvious that your body is uneven."

"That's encouraging," she nervously chuckled. Not only did he have her fat percentage, but he happened to know weirdly personal things like her thigh-to-calf ratio at this point.

"Which is more common than you think," he assured her, "It'll help us figure out which arm or which leg we need to work on more in order to get things even."

"You're really good at this," she mentioned, shocked that Seto Kaiba was actually pretty knowledgeable in fitness. Well, he had a nice, toned body. She just figured he had a personal trainer or maybe even a procedure, as the tabloids liked to say.

"I get that a lot."

For the next hour or so, he taught her several workouts through various objects and machines. He made sure to emphasize on technique more than trying to pull off a weight too heavy for her to handle. Although she was clearly tired, she listened to him intently and stayed motivated for the majority of the time. Few complaints left her mouth, and determination slowly took over , as determined as she was, by the end of the workout, she collapsed right onto a yoga mat.

After a couple minutes, she sat herself in a crossed-leg position and peered toward Kaiba, who sat on one machine. She asked, "Did you wake up one day and decided to get abs or something? You know a lot."

Kaiba glanced from his phone and replied, " _Mokuba_ woke up one day and decided to get abs. He strung me along."

"Eh?" she cocked her head, "I thought you said you didn't need a friend to exercise."

"Well, I don't _need_ him around to exercise on my own. Sure he was there the first week, and we planned things out, but we're fine on our own," Kaiba explained, "But I suppose it helps to have someone give out pointers the first day."

Kisara nodded her head and let some things mull in her head before asking, "Any reason why he decided to involve you?"

"I don't know," Kaiba said. He lingered over his words before adding, "Something about endorphins making me less depressed than I was."

"And you aren't now?" Kisara chuckled as she slowly stood up and rubbed her belly, "Well...I'm kind of hungry."

"Stretch before you leave," he mentioned.

"Ah, right," she said.

Kaiba drank water from his bottle as he observed her. She was still surreal, even if she was right there, in a simple tank top and tights, doing something completely normal, with that beautiful white hair in a high ponytail and face glossy with sweat. Her skin, although pale, wasn't a sickly alabaster, and her eyes weren't as dead as he remembered. She was different, this Kisara, different than his darkest dreams and his visit to a long gone man's memories. She wasn't afraid to smile and show all her teeth, and a part of him was relieved she wasn't as dispirited. However tangible she was, it was like she was still a figment of his imaginations -

"I'm done. Ready to go?" she asked.

He wondered how different he was to her.

* * *

Sunday morning couldn't have come any sooner for Kaiba. It was about the last of Battle City. As big and chaotic it was, the week-long time frame and 24 hour live duels made Battle City last longer than it actually was. He had no clue why he woke earlier than he had to for five consecutive days, and he definitely didn't know why he agreed to watch the sun rise with Kisara.

The two had finished exercising and eating breakfast, which for some reason felt routine. Their conversations over breakfast meals were surprisingly easygoing, although there was more on Kisara's end.

For one, he learned more about her place amongst the dweebs. Although it was clear she was close with Serenity Wheeler, she delved into their history, of how Serenity used to be painfully shy and demure, and how Kisara was too back then. She joked how every time Duke Devlin or Tristan Taylor tried anything, she would insist Serenity was already her girlfriend, and that was partially how she learned to be more confident. She actually became friends with them after constantly fighting them off from Serenity. She mentioned she never met Mokuba despite how their friend circle overlapped. Through Serenity, she was acquaintanced to Joey Wheeler, and eventually everyone else, although she remained closest to Serenity and Joey.

That led to her discussing how after researching different duels, she developed a newfound admiration for Yugi and a desire to be better friends with him. Kaiba was slightly troubled that he caught her faintly blushing as she went on about how humble and kind-hearted he was for someone so outrageously famous. She was genuinely shocked when he told her how Yugi wasn't popular with women, even going so far as to argue that his awful Duel Monsters puns were "adorable".

She showed him photos of her father and siblings after her father spontaneously called during their breakfast earlier. She clearly and dearly loved them. He noticed they resembled each other more than she did them, and she never mentioned a mother. He kept silent on that, however. He only spoke of Mokuba when she asked him about his family, and she got the idea not to press on more. She respected his space as he did hers. They ended up fighting over who had the more troublesome little brother as they exchanged tales of sibling quarrels and pranks.

Little by little, her breakfast plate got bigger, and so did his acceptance of her.

Yugi was right. She _was_ easy to talk to and daresay, amusing, but he felt like she had a world of her own she kept hidden underneath that seemingly open-minded nature. He too possessed such world underneath his more enclosed character.

On the wide expanse of the balcony of the gym, a breathtaking view of Domino City was everywhere the eye could see. Kisara had immediately headed toward the fence, taking in the beauty of Domino's nightlife with a eagle's view. It was still faintly dark, and the city would never sleep with its overabundance of shrill sounds and dazzling lights. Advertisements lit up half the city, selling various products from skincare to dishwashers.

"Oh, that's embarrassing," she giggled as she caught sight of herself on one advertisement. She still wasn't used to seeing herself on a big screen, especially the one of her posing on the back of a blue eyes white dragon for Battle City.

"Get used to it," he said as he walked to her side and followed her line of sight, "That's your job, isn't it?"

Kisara formed a tight lipped smile as her eyes never tore off from the city. She replied, "Yeah...I guess."

He noticed her mild response, "Second thoughts?"

"I mean...it's the best bet I got at a stable job for now. It's not even guaranteed I'll make it, but it's there. I can't work at the coffee shop forever when everyone around me has moved forward," she thoughtfully expressed, "Serenity's definitely going to be the doctor she's wanted to be for years. Joey always says he can die happy after every family he's helped, and Mai's living her best life as a successful beauty guru or influencer or whatever they call her these days. Don't even get me started on Yugi. I'm just...wandering around in comparison."

Kaiba stayed silent for a bit as he took in her words. She seemed so lost despite how grounded she acted. Her eyes were downcast, gazing toward the hustle and bustle of people in the streets. He parted his lips. "It's the money, isn't it?"

She softly lingered as her eyes closed momentarily, "It always has been."

He wanted to be quiet this time around. He had no clue about her financial situation, and he had a feeling it wasn't something he could pry into. Instead, he stated, "Look, Amano, I'm probably the last person in the whole world you'd want to discuss financial issues with, but it does pay off in the end."

"I hope so," she chuckled as her eyes opened. This time, they lifted to the vast expanse of the sky. She said, "But I wish I had enough to do what I want. That is to say, once I figure out what I really want to do. I haven't really had the time to think about it. I don't think modeling is what I want to do...it's a shallow industry, but it's a change and a chance for something more than just the entry level jobs I've been working at since forever."

"So thank you, Kaiba!" she suddenly announced as she faced toward him. Her eyes were bright and her smile equally. She looked like she was about to say more, but rays of sun broke apart the night, shedding onto one side of her face. Her attention shifted to the rising sun, as she leaned on the balcony pressing her elbows against the edge and cupping her face. She exclaimed, "Oh it's beautiful!"

"Yeah. It is."

She broke away from her stupor, turning her head toward the man next to her. He wasn't facing the sun, nor was he leaning over the balcony. His emotionless face rested on her, and his body was stiff as he kept both his hands into his pants pockets. She wondered why he agreed with her when his eyes weren't even focused on the sunrise. She realized, "Oh, sorry, I got distracted, didn't I?"

He shook his head, "It's fine. What were you saying?"

"Thanks for letting me work for you. This Battle City gig opened new doors for me. I, um, know I wasn't the most qualified. I understand that at the end of the day, I got it after begging and because of my…"pretty face" as you've said. So...thank you for having faith in me when you really shouldn't have."

Kaiba could feel the edge of his lips slowly curl into a half-smile. He replied, "Well, thanks for not disappointing me and ruining my company's image. Apparently the whole city likes you now. You shouldn't have a problem getting that contract you want with your reputation."

"And with your fitness tips," she gleefully added as she stretched her arms toward the sky. As she brought them down, her smile got smaller.

"I'll miss you, Kaiba _,_ " she solemnly whispered.

Right.

He forgot her contract with KaibaCorp ended once Battle City did.

"Haven't heard that one in a while," he bluntly remarked, expunging any chance of him saying the reciprocal.

In comparison to her genuine utterance, she found his quite callous, but it was that sort of Kaiba-esque response to sentimentalities she discovered to be endearing in a sense. Her smile dropped. One hand of hers reached to grab one of his.

He didn't flinch, for not a muscle in his body could counteract the influx of apprehension exploding in his head. He let that pale hand of hers extract his from his pockets and hold his limp hand from underneath. She let her other hand rest gently atop, sandwiching his hand.

"You have warm hands, Kaiba," she softly stated as her eyes were downcast, "Warmer than most people would imagine."

Before he could retrieve his hand, she had already slid her hands away. His hand fell to his side lamely, already dissipating the coolness of her skin.

"And," she cleared her throat, continually avoiding his gaze, "I'll miss it."

"Neither of us are dying. Do you have to be so dramatic?" He pressed on with his biting attitude while inwardly suppressing his true feelings. Something was off with the current conversation.

"I don't think we have an excuse to see each other beyond our current...friendship," she softly chuckled at his classic sarcasm, "I'm not modeling for KaibaCorp anymore. Mokuba's leaving soon and so is Serenity...those spontaneous game nights won't exist for a while. We've only met underneath business or mutual circumstances. Even Indonesia….and these past few days of Battle City were all corporate related."

 _Do we need an excuse?_ nearly slipped out of his mouth. His eyes were wide as he kept them on her avoiding stance. She was incredibly invested in the sunrise. Everything she was saying was what _he_ should have said. _She_ wasn't supposed to be the one dropping _him_. His head started to hurt, and his chest was suddenly asphyxiated as he started replaying every memory he had of her within the past months. Something was off.

"Amano."

"The sunrise here is a lot more colorful than the one at the coffee shop, it's like-"

"Look at me."

"-a promise things won't be as dim as they were."

"Don't make me repeat myself."

Kisara reluctantly complied.

"Those coffee cups. With the dragon drawings. _Why_?" He demanded.

She stayed silent.

"You know more than you let on," he accused, "All this time."

That smile he hated, the one that was only an imitation of the more beautiful version, formed on her lips.

"I know you love that dragon. Everyone in this city knows. That's all," she answered.

"You're lying," he seethed, "You _know_ who I am. What I don't understand is why you came into my life all of a sudden, knowing this, tried to constantly get my attention, but suddenly walk out now after I've finally given you some of my time."

"I haven't been the only one silent," she faintly gave out.

Kaiba wasn't getting anywhere with her. He scoffed, removing his gaze from her and reverting it toward the sunrise. Deadpanned, he declared, "If you knew about _us_ as much as I do, or even just a smidgen of the bullshit I've had to bear, then it's clear neither of us want anything to do with each other."

Kisara was left to face his back, hung over the balcony as he refused to give her his full attention. She hesitantly said, "I'm sorry, Kaiba."

"We're nothing to each other. Leave."

Kisara felt her throat get dry, but she mustered what she had left to say, "I _don't_ know everything, if that's what you think. I-I'm confused, and I'm going off from hallucinations, the ones I _can_ discriminate. I've had them for the longest time, but I just haven't been able to remember clearly. I have feelings about you I don't understand, but I _can't_ act upon them...I've found someone else -"

"Your _choice_ overrides your feelings, Amano," Kaiba cut her off, "Your choice is clear, and so is mine. Whatever _fate_..." he paused to prevent himself from automatically gagging on that one despicable word choice, "we share clearly isn't pivotal if we're able to pursue our own choices."

Her chest started pounding and produced unwarranted melancholy. With trembling lips, she replied, "I suppose my dreams are nothing more."

"Neither are mine."

"I see," she softly said as she turned away. Her feet made a couple steps away, but she stopped and moved her head back. She saw his figure, still looking at the sunrise, refusing to pay her any respects.

"I really do enjoy your company, Kaiba, maybe more than I should. Thanks for waking up for me this week...and everything more."

And she left. He hated it when she did that.

* * *

 **More Author's Notes:** Writing and checking over this chapter, I think it might be confusing towards the end.

Some points:

1) Kisara has been lying about being completely innocent of her memories, but she doesn't know everything. More on that will be touched on, and her motivations for leaving out how much she knows.

2) Kaiba is mad because she's known something this entire time and basically has avoided talking about it - just like he has with her. Kind of a hypocrite moment. More about how he thinks next chapter.

3) Reo Hamada is Kisara's "choice".

4) Also next chapter will be fun, because Kaiba has been waiting a whole week to fire someone.

5) Next chapter will also take a while (possible May) because college is a train wreck.

 **Review Responses:**

 **Darth Exodius:** Thank you for the kind compliment, and I certainly will keep up :)

 **WBAD:** Oh whoa. First of all, thank you so much for the long review! Don't be shy, hehe, I don't bite. Aghh, I really enjoyed writing last chapter because it was a comedic break for me writing about Kaiba and Joey. I hope to write more moments like that, haha.

Yeah, Kaiba was fine about Mokuba sleeping around before he found out it was Joey's sister. Kind of changes some thoughts!

Oh lord, that kiss might be a while, sorryyyy. This story's going to go on for a while, and the romance will be slow cause I'm honestly so nervous about writing Kaiba kissing, it's crazy! I, too, can't wait to write Kaiba vs. Hamada :)

Yes, he was involved with someone ^^ The effects from her are really bad, and he's kept it all to himself. Lots of consequences for his head from hiding it.

Well, thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and dropping this wonderful review! It makes me happy that you're enjoying it so much :)

 **Ai Star:** He'll snap next chapter :)

 **Informal Anthropology:** Agh, I had such a fun time writing last chapter. I think I've said it a lot, but it's true. Thank you for appreciating the dinner scene as much as I do 3 Oh, I really love the Kaiba brothers, it's crazy x) Hope you continue enjoying my story!

 **Bleach power:** Mokuba and Serenity aren't aware of the past stuff ^^ For this story, only the ones who travelled to the pharaoh's memories know so far. I loved writing "nice" Kaiba, and him trying so hard to be that way, hehe. Thanks for reading!

 **Juella:** Thank youuu, and I love that dynamic too. Yes, definitely fingers crossed! Oh dear, I'm going to miss Mokuba too...lowkey regret having him leave, but it's for the plot :,) I think Kaiba is funny as a character that any conversation he's in is pretty interesting, hehe! Thanks!

 **itxprincessxlala:** Oh no, I hope you got good sleep! But I have those nights with fanfics too :) Oh thank you so much for loving this story, and I truly hope I am writing the characters out decently. I hope I can continue making this story enjoyable for you ^^ Thank you!


	14. Chapter 13: Tomorrow

**Author's Notes:** I know I said I wouldn't update till May, but I've been working on this little by little. This was supposed to be a part of a longer chapter but it got way too chunky for my liking, and I thought it'd be better splitting it.

Also, yes the title changed because it fits more for future plans? I don't know why I'm so indecisive. We'll see if it changes again. This was "Second Chances" before.

* * *

"Hey, Kaiba! Just came in to check - oh...my...is this a bad time?"

Yugi had decided to pay the esteemed CEO of KaibaCorp a visit the morning after Battle City ended. Within one day, the whole office and even the rest of Domino had returned to its normal state of the usual hustle and bustle. He figured he could strike a normal conversation with Kaiba about last week's events over some coffee. This recently became a normal occurrence, with some mornings having the two play a couple new board games from Kame Game Shop. However, this morning, Yugi was greeted with the pleasant sight of Kaiba sprawled across his office couch, appearing asleep and disordered. He was asleep face down and half his body draped over to the side of the couch. Yugi softly snorted and slyly pulled out his phone with his free hand from his bag. He neared the couch and started snapping photos in a flurry, making sure to capture every angle of this special moment.

Kaiba was a light sleeper, to the point that Yugi's normal voice awoke his unplanned nap. His eyes bolted wide open, and he abruptly sat up. His arm quickly snatched what looked like a half-sliced lime on the near coffee table.

"Shit," he said as he started squeezing lime juice into his eyes. He clenched his teeth as the acidity of the liquid evoked his wariness.

Yugi glared at the other man cursing and wincing loudly, making sure to put away his phone before he got caught. He failed to notice Kaiba holding out a hand toward him and could only continue to blankly stare at the other's pained face, whose eyes were an alarming red and blinked in millisecond intervals.

"YUGI!"

Yugi's eyes finally landed on his outstretched hand, yet he was still slightly dazed.

"Coffee," Kaiba sputtered as he removed himself from the couch and shook his hand toward Yugi.

"Oh...here?" Yugi meekly responded as he handed Kaiba his coffee. The other man snatched the cup and zeroed in on his desk, downing the contents of the cup on the way and sitting down. Yugi followed him, sat across from his desk on a chair, and worriedly asked, "Not enough sleep last night?"

Kaiba could barely register his words. He continued drinking coffee while his other hand started dialing a number his phone. He ignored Yugi in trade of calling his secretary, "Wong. Get me a dozen of the most caffeinated energy drink in the vending machines."

"Guess not," Yugi mumbled to himself as he blew a piece of his blond bang away. He continued to observe Kaiba, feeling simultaneously amused and frightened by his erratic behavior. Suddenly, Kaiba started biting and sucking on the edges of his phone. To his horror, Yugi hurriedly said, "Kaiba that's your _phone_. Your coffee is on the other hand."

"Shut up," Kaiba moaned as he stopped nibbling on his phone and transitioned to the coffee. After completely finishing its contents, he leaned back in his chair and squeezed his eyes shut. He quietly asked, "How long has she known?"

"What?"

"Who else would I talk about?" Kaiba shot as he started furiously rubbing the inner corners of his eyes. He chucked his empty coffee cup into the nearby trash can.

"Well I already figured out _who_ ," Yugi smirked, "which is why I asked _what."_

"Spare me your attitude, Yugi. I'm not in the mood for your elementary insinuations."

Yugi's jaw slightly dropped as he raised eyebrows. He shook his head and exclaimed, "Someone needs a nap!"

Kaiba released a dramatic sigh and proceeded to slamming his feet atop his desk, crossed his legs, and made Yugi slightly jump from his seat. He murmured as he draped his head back and eyes toward the ceiling, "I need answers to questions I can't conjure correctly…or willingly. Whether I _need_ these answers is quite subjective by itself."

"...Don't tell me you're still hung up about not talking with her. Kaiba, we discussed this. I can't be the roundabout to your interests concerning-"

"You're right."

"-Kisara...wait, what?" Yugi believed himself to be hearing incorrectly as he stopped his own words. He watched intently as Kaiba covered his eyes with his forearm. Only his nose and lips were left visible as he stayed in his lax position.

"That I should stop trying to learn about her."

"That's not what I meant! I'm just saying you should talk to her directly instead of dancing around the subject so much!"

"I tried. Don't say I haven't. Because I have. I know some habits but it's not enough. I know she has a family whose faces don't resemble her at all. I know she enjoys watching those horrible romantic dramas unironically. I know she can eat five waffles in one sitting if she wasn't so self-conscious about her diet. I know she's willing to risk her health for the prospects of a good check. I know she, for some reason, thinks you're cool-"

"She does?" Yugi perked up, leaning forward in his seat, and lightheartedly joked, "Do _I_ have a chance?"

Kaiba quickly retracted his legs from the desk and sat straight up, glaring at the other man. He lowly said, "Maybe in your wet dreams, Yugi."

"Hold on," Yugi raised one hand and started counting, "We both appreciate _ingenious_ puns. We joke around pretty easily. We've known each other for a pretty decent time because of mutual friend circles. I'd say I'm a pretty viable candidate. More than, let me think, Mr. Charisma right here." He took one hand and made an abrupt chopping motion toward Kaiba.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, "You're like four inches shorter than her...including that perfectly coiffed hair of yours."

"She told me I was cute once."

"She calls everyone cute," Kaiba immediately argued, "To her, Wheeler is cute. His sister is cute. Mokuba is cute. Hell, I'M CUTE!"

"What about calling me," Yugi mischievously said, "Handsome?"

"I'm handsomer than you."

"Mm...you're jealous that I have more in common with her than you do, aren't you? And that she said _I_ was handsome and _you're_ only cute?" Yugi playfully clicked his tongue and snapped his fingers, looking incredibly smug.

"Shut up. Literally no one thinks that," Kaiba growled in annoyance.

"I'll ask her who's more handsome right now."

"Do it!" Kaiba shouted as sleep deprivation continued to course through every vein in his body. However, as soon as Yugi pulled out his phone, he quickly said, " _Don't_."

"Aren't you kind of scatterbrained today?" Yugi paused his movements and raised a brow.

"She doesn't want anything to do with me."

Yugi blinked and put away his phone. For a small moment, underneath all that truculence, he could somewhat trace a sense of near dolefulness in Kaiba's tone, who avoided his eyes, landing on the dragon figurine once again. Feeling the atmosphere dampen a smidgen, he gently asked, "Why do you say that?"

Kaiba closed his eyes, as if such a small action could cease the beginnings of a gnawing migraine before explaining, "She's known all along."

"About what?"

"Honestly," Kaiba snapped as his eyes flew open, "Do I have to spell everything out for you?"

Yugi nearly rolled his eyes if it were not for the heaviness in the air. Past Kaiba's morning bitterness, there was a layer of genuine want for advice. He had this idea of him for the longest time, and he was probably one of the few people in the world that could put up with the CEO's brash exterior. He mulled over his words and suspected, "Ah. I suppose those dreams she's had weren't as recent as she claimed. How much does she know?"

"It's vague for her, but it's enough to know I'm tied to her...by some vapid, asinine obligation," Kaiba spat, "the kind you call _fate_. Much to my...surprise, she wants nothing to do with it. Who am I to force something I never wanted either? She made it clear she can't be near me in the end."

"You care for her."

"I don't have the mental capacity to laugh at your jokes right now. I literally said she doesn't care for the only connection we have. I shouldn't either. We're insanely different if you take that out of the equation."

"It's not a joke," Yugi earnestly claimed, "It's a truth. It's the actuality that you still try to scavenge for pieces of her from me, even when you have immense denial and she does too. It's the fact you actively carried conversations with her and actually remember things about her. Was it not just a few minutes ago you told me those small parts and habits of her life? You said you _shouldn't_ care? Three months ago, you said you _didn't_ care."

"I would ask where you're getting at if I wasn't so emotionally drained right now," Kaiba complained as the start of his headache evolved.

"You had emotions to begin with?" Yugi playfully scoffed as he pulled out a board game. "Suit yourself, Kaiba. I think you care for her more than you acknowledge. I find it hard to believe Kisara cut you off like that from the way you seem to get along with her."

"She _did,_ " Kaiba insisted, "I don't know if you're aware, Yugi, but she isn't some sweet saint everyone else seems to see her as. There's so much she has hidden underneath that stupid facade."

"That's a lot of people. Not everyone is as brutally and unnecessarily honest as you," Yugi quickly pointed out.

"No. The issue is that she tries too hard to seem fine, but all that trying clearly breaks through if you observe hard enough. It's not even that difficult to notice, actually."

A smile broke across Yugi's lips and he released a laugh as clear as bells. This time, he was the one to bring his fingers to rub his eyes.

"Fuck…can you shut up?" Kaiba groaned as he felt a sharp pain in his head from Yugi's screeching, "What even is so funny?"

"Y-you," Yugi took in a deep breath before he could possibly breathe another word, "Nevermind. I know nothing at all."

"Finally something logical out of your mouth."

"Mhm. Here. I brought Battlestar Gandora."

* * *

Reo Hamada nimbly twirled his graphic pen in one hand as the other followed lines and lines of text on his KaibaCorp issued tablet. For a while, the text was starting to get blurry from constant hours staring at the screen. Frankly, he couldn't fathom how the programmers could stare at a screen for so long without feeling their eyes water. He closed his tablet and removed himself from his desk, desiring to take a small break. He went toward his full-length mirror, checking over his appearance for the next press release.

Reo wasn't exactly the best-looking man that Japan had to offer. He wasn't extraordinarily handsome or ugly, really. What he did have, however, was a malleable face that could attract most people with his charming smile and enigmatic eyes. The words he spun were golden and lyrical, an equally persuasive but friendlier version of lawyers' jargon. His flaxen hair was always slicked back neatly, allowing his entire face to be seen and giving people the sense that he was trustworthy.

He opened his mouth, carefully reviewing his reflection in case of stuck food. Something seemed stuck in his molars, so he reached for s toothpick on his desk, returned to the mirror, and started scraping in between teeth. He was doing pretty well until the door to his office cracked open, like an ominous call.

The sharp stick impeded into his gums, making small blood trickle out. He would have winced if the man who entered his domain was less daunting than a mere graze. He also would've nearly swallowed his toothpick if not for his stone frozen reaction.

"Being productive, I see," Seto Kaiba dryly remarked as he shut the door behind him, catching the public relations manager in an awkward position. The thudding noise snapped Reo out of stasis.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kaiba," Reo quickly responded as he stood straight, skillfully tossing his toothpick into his trash can. He motioned toward his desk, "How may I help you today? Would you perhaps like to take a seat?"

Kaiba's figure remained static, looming in front of the door with no trace of emotion. His eyes weren't even focused on Reo, but wandered around his office, from his simple furniture to his degrees plastered on one side. Reo noticed in one hand, the CEO had his fingers wrapped around a Tiovita energy drink. He also observed Kaiba crack open the bottle and take small sips.

"No thanks," Kaiba responded as he closed the cap, "This won't take long."

Reo furrowed his brows, confused. He slowly asked, "Pardon me, but what do you mean, sir?"

"Your termination."

Reo could feel his life get sucked out of his body that very moment.

"Sorry...but may I ask your reasons?"

Kaiba dully landed on Reo's face, which was still quite more animated than his own could ever hope to be. He carefully articulated, "Inappropriate client relationship."

"Excuse me?" Reo's eyes widened in horror as he realized Kaiba's knowledge of his personal relations. Images of his white haired girlfriend flashed in his head, with that sweet face and silvery voice of hers. He couldn't back down when she became involved. With arms crossed and his body leaned against his desk, he collected himself and chuckled, "I'm afraid there is no clause in your company contracts incriminating relationships between workers. I fail to see the validity in your statement."

"I hear you have a wife. I don't think either she or your girlfriend would appreciate knowing each other's existence."

Slowly unwrapping his arms, Reo's confusion only further deepened as felt the walls in his office downsize. His chest tightened as he wondered how the hell his boss knew...or cared for that matter. He retorted, "I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba, but if you are firing me underneath the premise of infidelity, then you may as well fire a good chunk of the men working underneath you. Personal relationships and choices should not be a determining factor for my termination."

Kaiba squinted hard at Reo, as if he was trying to discriminate how the normally timid Reo Hamada was suddenly able to talk back. He took sips of his energy drink before reasoning, "Oh, I don't care about your life story. Cheat on your wife however you desire, but I can't entrust you in a position that heavily affects my company's image. You are, or were, prominent in the public relations sector. I can't risk having someone as immoral as you be found out and tarnish my credibility. I also don't care if Bill from accounting is cheating on his wife, because he isn't in charge of dealing with the public."

Reo opened his lips to provide more arguments, but Kaiba was relentless.

"Furthermore, you endangered the image of another public figure that represented my company at the time. If word got out she was involved with a married man, it would have negatively affected my image, my decision-making. I would fire her too if she wasn't a temporary employee," Kaiba sourly declared, "There may not be a clause that criminalizes work relationships, but there is one that states I am able to fire anyone I deem unfit, for whatever reason, to work in my company."

Reo had been biting on his tongue for the longest time. _No._ He worked too hard to be suddenly fired, and did Kaiba hint that he was going to rat him out? He had to find some way to prevent either from happening, so two words left his mouth:

"Duel me."

Kaiba was taken slightly aback. He claimed, "You're more stupid than you appear. Why the hell would I do that when I literally have the power to fire you on the spot?"

"Because you care for her."

It was Kaiba's turn to be confused. He had heard that same line this very morning, from the mouth of someone else. The rare confusion on his face was identifiable for Reo, who spoke more, "With all due respect, I'm aware of your relationship with Kisara, Mr. Kaiba. What she claims as friendship, I suspect may be more on your end. You didn't personally come to my office to fire me for that poor reasoning of an excuse. Do you think firing me will make me tell her the truth her? Do you think getting rid of me is somehow going to avenge her?"

"Your point for dueling me, Hamada. I haven't heard it," Kaiba hissed, his fingers tightening around his energy drink. He chose to ignore his claims, finding it unnecessary to explain himself.

Reo swiftly turned around and walked around his desk. He settled into his seat and placed both his arms on the armrests. He explained, "I love her. Even if it means I have to withhold some parts of myself to keep her, I'll do whatever it takes to continue keeping that...disagreeable fact."

At that moment, Kaiba narrowed his eyes. Before he could open his mouth, Reo continued speaking.

"And I also want to keep my job. If I win, I stay and you leave me and Kisara the hell alone. Leave my wife and home alone as well. Everything you know concerning me is taken to your grave."

"I can still fire you and tell her myself. She isn't someone who would stay after knowing something like that...knowing how you've used her all this time," Kaiba uttered in contempt.

"How long have you known about this, Mr. Kaiba?" Reo glared at his boss, already completely outside of his timid character. He cocked his head and smirked as he arrived to his own conclusion, "I don't wear my marital band to work, neither do I have my wife listed in the company records. I don't speak of her with anyone here. The only way you could have possibly known is from last week's medical records. I know you and Kisara spent some time chatting over breakfast and whatnot. She's very truthful with the people she talks to with me, you see. You've kept it to yourself thus far, so I don't believe you would out of the blue contact her."

"Try me. What do _I_ get out of this duel?"

"If you win," Reo added, "I'll leave. Also, I will give you the relief of telling Kisara myself. Initially, I thought you didn't tell her because as you claimed, it's none of your business. But…." he looked down on his desk and gave a little laugh, "You didn't tell her because you probably didn't want to be the one to hurt her, did you? Big bad CEO suddenly can't hurt someone's feelings when he's done the same thing to countless other. "

"I'm not going to dignify something so outrageously fictitious. I stick by my reasonings. Have you always been so imaginative?"

"It's my job."

"Very well. I have my own conditions to add," Kaiba stated. He inched toward Reo's desk, and as the light poured like broken fragments through the window in the back of the dimly lit office. Divided sunlight ominously highlighted parts of his looming figure, with one bar of light clearly showing a glint in his cobalt blue eyes. They were unfaltering in the way he zoned into Reo's own pair, and there was no trace of significant emotion. Pursed lips opened, "We duel underneath _maximum pain_ and _shock absorbance_. With every hit to our life points, the trauma from the newest developed pain receptors desecrate our bodily functions. Once the counter hits zero, the trauma will be enough to _hospitalize_ the loser about a week...and that _will_ be you."

"Those conditions are hardly legal," Reo scoffed as he looked up. He could feel his heartbeat spike up at the mere thought of the duel.

"What's wrong?" Kaiba taunted, "You were the one who proposed the duel and even set the stakes. I was going to fire you, but I'll grant your chance, as hilariously unfavorable as it is. Actually, I'm looking forward to this duel, so much that if you refuse, I'll do much more than just fire you and tell your girlfriend."

"Are you seriously turning my own proposition against me? What are you threatening me with?"

"I'm bored by your bets. Why not make it more exciting?" Kaiba declared, "Deny me the duel, and I make sure your foot never lands in any other company. If you think I'm incapable of doing such a thing, then you're gravely mistaken. At least if you lose, you can take your sorry ass to a fourth rate company."

Reo didn't doubt his boss could pull through with his threats. Seto Kaiba's connections ran across all of Domino and most of Japan. He was, however, mildly shocked by how he was the target this time. Usually he was the one trying to cover up the CEO's questionable activities. He said, "I know a lot of what you've done these past couple years. Do that and I can easily expose you."

"Are you alone in your endeavor?" Kaiba sneered, he opened his energy drink and chugged the remaining liquid before adding, "Have you forgotten I have a team of the finest lawyers available? I'll sue for more than just libel, but go on, be a fool."

"Fine," Reo shrugged as he leaned further back in his seat, appearing more relaxed than he actually was, "I accept your conditions as long as my bets are guaranteed."

"We have a deal," Kaiba stated as he threw his empty bottle into Reo's trash can, making an audible, clean plunk noise as it hit the can, "I'll give you one day. Dueling facilities. 8PM."

As Kaiba turned back and headed toward the door, Reo declared, "I didn't hesitate because I was threatened or intimidated by your conditions, Mr. Kaiba. It's quite clear you want to hurt me for reasons beyond than just harming your image. I'm not stupid. There's people out there who've done worse to you. I only stalled my acceptance because I wanted to see how far you would go, how desperate you would be to seize and keep an opportunity to hurt me. It's _obvious_ that you're not doing this for your own satisfaction because I haven't done anything directly to peeve you. You're fighting for _someone else_ , as much as you deny it."

Kaiba's grip around the knob of the office door tightened. He was getting sick of the words that seemed to regurgitate from his employee.

"I don't know specifically what's going on between you and Kisara-"

"Please shut up," Kaiba's tone had been relatively collected the entire time, but at this point, his volume was noticeably raised, "I admit to sharing conversations with her, but they never extended beyond mutuals and happenstance as reasons. We have nothing else. I duel for myself."

"Your actions-"

"Are because you've irritated me beyond my gracious patience," Kaiba cut him off as his hand pulled the door knob harshly, not turning it at all, simple pulling to exert his inner tension. He continued, "You were stupid the moment "duel" left your tongue. I would schedule a therapist if you have something mental going on, because you have to be shockingly deranged to think you could possibly defeat me."

"People do crazy things for love. I'm no exception," Reo confessed, "I'll do anything to make sure she doesn't leave me."

"Even I know your perception of love is psychotic."

"Even if _you_ know," Reo repeated, and as he heard his own words, he laughed uncontrollably. Each sound aggravated Kaiba's already present annoyance. After Reo calmed down, he ran his fingers across his styled flaxen hair, which slowly became unkempt. He coldly added, "That's right. Someone like you wouldn't know what real love feels like, so you have no right to judge me. I have no need to explain myself to you."

Kaiba stayed silent for a while. He could feel Reo's eyes bore into his back, like imaginary lasers that pierced past his suit and tore apart his skin. He was exhausted, sick of every moment today. He didn't have to visit this man after he finished his work, but he did for reasons he himself didn't want to believe he was motivated by.

"Tomorrow."

Only that word left his lips as he turned the knob and slammed the door behind him.

Reo watched the CEO leave. Once the door shut, he released an anxious sigh. When it came to his job and Kisara, he couldn't stay the meek man he usually was. He worked too hard and committed too many hours to simply be discarded for such a minor inconvenience. He also couldn't let go of _her_. Her face. Her voice. Her electrifying touch against his skin during balmy summer nights against smooth bed sheets turned wrinkled. It was a dangerous game he had been playing the last few months, but his feelings overrode his commitments. He knew it was immoral, but he believed his reasons justified his actions, and he'd be damned that someone as detached as Seto Kaiba would judge him.

Even if it meant destroying himself, he could do just that to possess her. Even if it meant writing a death wish. That was just how alive she made him feel. He couldn't risk it. He had to pique Seto Kaiba somehow. He had to take any chance he could get at saving himself and her.

A ring emerged from his desk. He pulled one of his drawers and took out his extra phone. Without even looking at the caller ID, he accepted the call.

"If you're not tired, what about a date tonight? It's all on me. I know it's spontaneous. Yes, I know. This'll be the last time I spoil you. I can't promise I'll stop. See you later, I'll pick you up soon."

As he hung up, he knew he had to make tonight the best he could for her, knowing full well it may be the last one.

* * *

 **Sometime the next day…**

"No," Yugi softly whispered underneath his breath, horrified. His hand quivered as he reached out toward the glass, and his eyes broadened as the catastrophic scene in front of him unfolded. His throat felt caught up as he was rendered useless behind the transparent boundary. Once his finger touched the coolness of the glass, he weakly delivered, "Kaiba…"

" **KAIBA, GET THE HELL OUT!** "

But his blistering shouts and incessant pounding against the glass were inaudible to the collisions detonating inside the duel arena.

* * *

 **More Notes:** YuGiOh isn't YuGiOh without dramatic card games and cheesy dialogue to complement, eh?

 **Review Responses**

 **Bleach power:** Glad you enjoy the moments between them :) Cause I enjoy writing them!

 **itsxprincessxlala:** Aw, thanks for showing so much love for the previous chapter! Her boyfriend just got in the picture, hehe, so I hope you enjoy this one ^^


	15. Chapter 14: Dragon Killer

**Lengthy Author's Notes:**

If I was confusing with the ending part of last chapter, I'm sorry! It was like a sneak peek, so I did _not_ skip over the duel. I was planning it out, and boy are duels really difficult to portray, but here I am trying.

I know it might seem boring to write out the duel, but this _is_ a YuGiOh fanfiction, so please bear with me. You can probably skip most of it, but there's some details you might not want to miss. They _are_ kind of subtle though, so they might not be too interesting, actually. Haha.

Really sorry if I bend any rules, and, unlike Kaiba, I unfortunately don't have any money to screw them. Anyways, I will be using some cards from DSOD, although this story does NOT include DSOD in the timeline. This is because by the time period of this story, new cards would have been developed. Around this time (around GX really), Ritual and Fusion are a thing. No Synchros and anything forward, although Reo Hamada's deck would have greatly benefited from synchros haha. Some "banned" cards are used, although they're not really banned in the animeverse (ex: the infamous Pot of Greed).

Ack, I'm glad I found some spare time to upload this though. I wasn't as busy as I thought I'd be.

Anyways, I'll just shut up now.

* * *

The next day on Tuesday morning, Kaiba didn't even bother to lift his eyes toward the cracked door of his office room as he concentrated on the array of cards scattered neatly across his desk. He figured it was Yugi anyways and didn't care to acknowledge his presence.

Yugi was utterly surprised as he noticed that Kaiba had Duel Monsters cards all of a sudden. He stayed silent for a good bit, eventually settling into his seat and intently watching him organize what seemed to be a deck.

"So…." Yugi awkwardly broke the silence and asked, "What's the occasion? I haven't seen you pull those out in a long while. How long has it been?"

"Too long," Kaiba muttered as he continued swapping cards in and out of various piles.

"Are you...dueling someone?"

"Yes."

Kaiba's simplistic responses simultaneously induced greater curiosity and confusion within Yugi. He couldn't recall the last time Kaiba had dueled. He knew things had gotten worse for the CEO for some time due to private company issues, and that was practically the only reason that he suspected. Well, that and other complications he wasn't privy to. For Kaiba to duel, after all this time, was quite frankly a surprise.

"May I ask who?" Yugi peered as he slightly looked closer to view his cards.

Kaiba's hands stopped moving as he momentarily pondered whether or not he should divulge the identity of his opponent. He finally glanced up at Yugi and slowly asked, "Have you ever heard of Reo Hamada?"

Yugi raised an eyebrow and tried recalling various duelists' names across his head. He shook his head and said, "Can't say I have."

"He is - or shall I say _was_ , in the Duel Monsters pro-league for South Korea," Kaiba briefly mentioned as he went back to moving around his cards.

"South Korea?" Yugi asked with surprise in his tone, "But his name is Japanese...I would've remembered him especially. I've known the South Korean team too."

"He's half-Korean, half-Japanese," Kaiba explained as he recalled the man's online information, "Whether he was a pro-duelist is questionable as well. According to online sources, he was a favorite to join the team. Something mysterious caused him to quit before he could even debut."

"Reo Hamada…" Yugi tapped his chin as he soaked in Kaiba's information. Curious, he pulled out his own phone and googled the name. Several search results came up. As he perused through articles, he remarked, "Hmm...interesting. It's funny that he's known to run a Buster Blader deck."

"It's annoying."

"For your dragon-loving ass, yeah," Yugi mused as he surveyed Kaiba's cards, "If you know he's running a deck that clearly has an advantage over yours, why bother?"

Kaiba stayed silent.

"I could give you some monsters that-"

"Yugi," Kaiba calmly addressed, immediately quieting the other man, "Have you known me to turn my back on my Blue Eyes?"

For a while, Yugi had to think and recall all his memories of seeing Kaiba duel. It had been a long while but his memories of duels were as concrete as the floor his feet were placed on. A small smile emerged on his face as he replied, "No."

"Recognizing that my opponent has a Buster Blader deck doesn't scare me," Kaiba firmly assured as he continued swapping in between cards, "It only makes me more eager to crush my opponent with the full force of my Blue Eyes."

"Sometimes I'm honestly confused when you tell me I'm the dramatic one," Yugi commented as he was easily amused by Kaiba's overzealous statements.

"I stand by my sentiments."

"But why _him_? He seems sort of random...and I don't think you two are exactly friends...because you don't really have those," Yugi smirked as Kaiba gave him a dirty look, "Does he have something over you?"

"No, he doesn't," Kaiba answered a little too quickly with an annoyed tone that made Yugi raise both his eyebrows and question his honesty. He explained, "He works here. I wanted to fire him but he wanted to duel for a chance to keep his job. That's all."

Yugi speculated it was more than just that. He noticed the way Kaiba was incredibly focused on his cards, with more care than he should have. Careful not to outright pry, he masked his curiosity with lighthearted sarcasm, "Is it a new job criteria of KaibaCorp to win a duel against you?"

"Very funny. Hilarious," Kaiba flatly responded, "I should've hired you as an employment manager."

"No one would be hired then," Yugi implied as he winked.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, understanding that Yugi just subtly flaunted his King of Games status. He sneered, "So...how's victim number eight responding to your Casanova moves? Has she fallen for your Heart of the Cards? Or has she made like the others and realized you're full of bullshit?"

"Hey!" Yugi exclaimed. He knew perfectly well Kaiba knew his recent crush on a fairly cute redhead in the marketing department. He defended himself, "Do you know how many fangirls I have?"

"Clearly not enough."

"I have a lot," Yugi insisted, "I've had girls throw themselves at me! The problem is that they're attracted to my title rather than who I am. I'd rather have someone who isn't so hellbent on my...fame."

"It's the only appealing aspect of you," Kaiba mocked, "You're picky for someone who complains about being single."

"That would hurt if you weren't normally an asshole, Kaiba," Yugi declared as he dramatically grasped his chest, "You get my point, though, right?"

Kaiba only grunted in response.

"That feeling of distrust that creeps onto you? Like when someone might be using you for your fame...and maybe in your case, money? I have that feeling when a fangirl approaches me, so that's why I'd rather pursue someone who isn't very interested or knowledgeable of my reputation. Granted, she might not like me back, but I'd rather have that than someone who likes me for my title."

It was strange the moment Yugi finished his words. Kaiba swore he couldn't remember the last time Yugi spilled his inner feelings. With unwarranted sympathy, he briefly answered, "...Yes. I get your point."

Kaiba cleared his throat as he noticed Yugi mask his disappointment with a nervous smile. He added, "If I _were_ interested in dating, I _would_ have similar feelings. I speak in a _very_ theoretical sense, however."

"Must be worse for you since you get proposals from so many daughters of other CEOs. You probably think it's a quick cash grab for them."

"...Has that seriously been going around?" Kaiba let out a cynical laugh and shook his head, "Really, it never fails to amaze me how people entertain themselves with baseless information."

"Is it really baseless?"

Kaiba's eyes diverted to his trash can as he answered, "No. I _do_ receive them. I also do look at them, mainly because I need a good laugh by the end of the day. The next time I get them, you should read with me. Some are _questionable_ but nonetheless entertaining to read."

"I look forward to one," Yugi mused as he realized that Kaiba had just invited him to do something for once. He continued watching the CEO constantly trade cards for cards, as if it were the most complex algorithm in the world. He offered, "If you don't need monster cards, I have some pretty useful spells and traps that could work with your deck."

"No thanks," Kaiba, much to Yugi's surprise, _courteously_ denied, "This is something I need to win on my own."

"Well you would win on your own, just with some of my cards."

"It needs to be _purely_ of my own resolve," Kaiba countered.

"Why?" Yugi pressed on, "I have my own Buster Blader that I've used enough times to defeat dragon-type monsters. I know what works against it as well, and I have those cards."

"I'm not speaking from mere denial or hate for help, Yugi," Kaiba solemnly acknowledged. He finished setting up his deck and started placing unused cards in his opened briefcase. He continued, "I don't expect you to understand something I can't decipher myself. It needs to be completely me. For my conscience."

"You have that too?" Yugi raised his eyebrows in good play. He chuckled as Kaiba started to scowl, quickly adding, "Just kidding. But what do you mean for your own conscience?"

"Like I said. I _don't know_ ," Kaiba confessed with utter disdain in his voice. He could feel his chest start tightening as he kept recalling his motivations for his upcoming duel. For all he could understand of himself, he couldn't grasp why that _obligation_ he resented so much kept sticking to his head. He took one hand of his and opened it, viewing his playing palm, the one that used to hold duel cards. He quickly clenched it into a fist and said, "Whatever this _feeling_ is, I just know I have to get rid of it, and I'll do so by paying one last respect."

At this point, Yugi was more perplexed than ever by Kaiba's words. He figured this duel that Kaiba was prepping for went beyond than just a means for a contract. There was something his opponent had to have that Kaiba wanted, but he didn't know such a thing.

"...Is it possible that I could spectate? I'm curious how you duel after such a long time," Yugi proposed, "It's pretty exciting, actually."

"Sure. Why not?"

Before Kaiba could shut his briefcase, Yugi spoke up, "Oh hold up, there's one card gone astray." His hand moved forward to pick it up. Turning the card face up, his eyebrows shot upwards. He stuttered, "Is-Is this Kisara?!"

The card read as Maiden with Eyes of Blue. There was no text on the bottom, but the picture was alike to that of the girl he recognized from the pharaoh's memories.

Kaiba snatched the card from Yugi's hand and wordlessly lumped it in with the other unused cards in his briefcase.

"You know...my fangirls draw pictures of me," Yugi slowly said as he crossed his arms, "But I've never had them make a Duel Monsters card out of me."

Kaiba ignored him as he whipped out his laptop and started typing away.

"If you don't tell me why, I'm going to tell Téa, Tristan, Joey, even Kisara-"

"Okokokokokok," Kaiba quickly responded as he gestured his hands in a "stop" motion, "Look. It's not even a real card at the moment."

"...That doesn't explain anything," Yugi whined as he started pulling out his phone, "The last person I called was Joey so…" His finger touched the dial button, and an audible calling sound filled the room.

"Oi, Yugi, what's up-" Joey's voice was cut off.

"PEGASUS!" Kaiba yelled out as soon as that annoying voice came alive, "...asked me if I wanted a card made some years ago. I didn't care for a new card at time -"

"...is that moneybags-"

Yugi grinned and dropped his call with Joey.

"So you asked him to recreate the woman of your fantasies?" Yugi teased as he winked and his eyebrows went up and down., "That's why the card doesn't have a description or any stats, eh? You just wanted some nice art of her, eh? Eh? EH?"

"...Get out of my office, Muto."

Yugi raised both his hands as if he was about to get arrested. He stood up and slowly backed up to the door, leaving with, "Alright. Alright. Secret stays with me. See ya later."

* * *

Kaiba felt the weight of his duel disk on his left arm as he settled into his place in one of KaibaCorp's massive duel arenas. It was magnanimously foreign, as if the strain was never there in the first place, and it was also gravely missed. His eyes glared at the luminous sheen from different lines of his duel disk, strapped from his shoulder and running down onto his very wrist. As much as he tested every duel disk released, it felt wonderfully different this time around, when a real duel would actually take place with a real opponent, and not with some A.I. He stood atop a high altitude, where the duelist should stand. Various machines surrounded his figure. His eyes glanced up, fully aware of his opponent's arrival from the audible clank of his footsteps across the metallic floor.

"I'm surprised. You've proven less of a coward than I anticipated," Kaiba ostentatiously announced from across the vast expanse of the duel arena, "Although your appearance doesn't warrant better character."

"If only my life revolved around appeasing you, Mr. Kaiba," Reo didn't hold back as he argued, "I'd say it's more focused on trying to hopelessly persuade the public you're an actually decent human being, really."

"After this, you won't have much of a life then," Kaiba sneered as he motioned toward holographic programs suddenly appearing onto Reo's side. Digital text displayed in front of Reo's eyes.

"What is this?" Reo asked as his eyes narrowed, gazing through each word.

"I hope that was rhetorical...you can _read_ , can't you?"

Reo bit his tongue the moment Kaiba's sarcasm cut through. He grit his teeth as he continued reading the text, completely aware of the other man's icy glare. After he finished, he questioned, "Are you so insecure that you require my signature for my compliance?"

"I wasn't lying when I stated the conditions of this duel," Kaiba explained, "and you weren't wrong in claiming that this is _hardly legal_ , but if you agreed to my terms before, then it should be no problem signing that contract."

"Have _you_ signed?"

Kaiba ushered in a display of his own. He motioned the text toward Reo's side, with the same legal contract, except with _Seto Kaiba_ as a signature of participant.

Reo scoffed in disbelief. He did, however, abide by his opponent's conditions as he digitally signed his own signature with his finger. He watched the dialogue disappear in front of his eyes, and he glared back toward Kaiba. He said, "Are the shenanigans finally out of the way now?"

He had his own duel disk on his left arm, fully fledged.

"I've never seen someone so eager to lose," Kaiba snidely mentioned as his duel disk went alive.

"Fancy," Reo muttered as he watched Kaiba pull out a deck of digital cards from thin air. The transition from physical to digital decks had been reinstated for quite a while, but it was past Reo's dueling days that he never got around to using one. He pulled out his own deck, and the two men started shuffling their cards. They both let one of the machines to the side cut their deck. Retrieving their decks and inserting them into their respective duel disks, they watched a holographic coin flip in the middle of the playing field.

Yugi towered above the duel arena behind a thick layer of glass and acted as a guest, watching over the two duelists. He was in what Kaiba had told him was a control room, and the glass that acted as a border between him and the arena was tinted so that he wasn't visible to either duelists, but he could clearly make them out. His eyebrows furrowed as he noticed the rather odd script displayed on one of the monitors. He thought he was hallucinating when he realized what conditions they were dueling in.

Every setting and control was set to maximum, making the holograms hyperrealistic, the pressure and wind speeds unbelievably exaggerated, and the pain receptors highly sensitive. Yugi felt himself unable to breathe until finally finishing his analysis of the stats. He thought to himself, _what are you up to...Kaiba?_

Yugi lifted his eyes as he saw each man's life point counter start at 8000 and the coin finally settle.

"First move is mine," Kaiba announced as the coin favored him, dissipating into the air. He didn't hesitate a moment as he played his cards, "I set a monster in defense position and place one card face down. I end there."

"I expected something more impressive," Reo scoffed as he drew one card, "I set one card face down and summon Blizzard Dragon in attack position."

A rather spry and small cobalt blue dragon emerged from the air, and its iguana-like head bared a high bellow ( 1800 / 1000 ).

"I equip the spell card Big Bang Shot to my dragon, raising its attack by 400 points. Also, when it attacks your defense monster, you take piercing damage. Go, Blizzard Dragon!"

A whimpering, tiny pink creature( 100 / 200 ) appeared as Blizzard Dragon blasted its attack. The trembling monster shattered into oblivion, and Kaiba felt his legs significantly weaken as his life points dropped by a massive 2000 point drop. He grabbed tightly onto nearby handrails as he struggled to keep his balance. He believed himself to seeing double as he looked down at his feet, recognizing four distinctive ones instead of a normal two. He temporarily closed his eyes as the world around him seemed to spin at a dizzying rate.

Yugi grit his teeth as he saw Kaiba take the first fall. Whatever conditions the two duelists had agreed upon, they were absolutely no joke, and Kaiba's scrambling state was a prime example of the costs that came with the duel. He held fear in his heart, but not just for Kaiba. No one should duel under these circumstances, conditions that could nearly mimic long gone Shadow Games with KaibaCorp's state-of-the-art technology.

"Huh," Reo mocked as he relished in the sight of his boss, "A part of me still didn't believe you when you set these conditions...but I guess I shall thank you for exemplifying your own consequences."

Kaiba's eyes flashed back up toward Reo, his heart rate speeding up as his blood pressure increased. He raised his hand and fought to overcome his weakness, "I activate Kidmodo Dragon's effect. When it gets sent to the graveyard, I'm allowed to special summon one dragon-type monster from my hand."

" _A dragon?_ " Reo spat as he watched Kaiba pull one card from his hand.

"I choose Krystal Dragon," Kaiba firmly stated as a fearsome form arose on his side of the field. The dragon's reflective scales, like its name entailed, reflected the fluorescent lights of the stadium, so bright that it made Reo squint his eyes.

"You're a fool!" Reo yelled out as Kaiba regained his composure, "I know you probably researched the hell out of me, so you know what deck I use! And here you are, already using two dragons. Dragons will only weaken you in the end!"

"And you know what deck _I_ would use and never turn my back on," Kaiba seethed.

Reo's eyes widened. Of course he did. Everyone who knew Duel Monsters was quite aware of his dragon obsession, but he thought Seto Kaiba would be intelligent enough to change his course when facing him. He chuckled and replied, "Suit yourself. It's not every day I get to kill a Blue Eyes White Dragon. I end my turn."

Kaiba drew. He announced, "I'm not going to hesitate. Krystal Dragon, destroy his Blizzard Dragon!"

200 life points were shaved off for Reo. The small difference in damage was still noticeable as he felt his body suddenly weaken. However, it was nothing compared to what Kaiba had experienced. He retorted, "A small price to pay for what's to come."

"I forgot to mention," Kaiba said, "If Krystal Dragon battles, I get to add one Level 8 Dragon from my deck to my hand. Imagine what _that_ could be. I end."

Reo nearly rolled his eyes at Kaiba's obvious hint. He knew it was a matter of time before the man would summon his obsession. He shook his head and drew, "I'm absolutely _shaking_. I'll set another card facedown. I play the spell Monster Reborn and special summon my Blizzard Dragon. With that, I'm still able to normal summon another monster - Alexandrite Dragon."

As Blizzard Dragon made its icy return, an even larger, menacing dragon emerged on Reo's side with overwhelming stats for a mere four star monster ( 2000 / 100 ).

"Both of your pathetic dragons fail to overcome my Krystal Dragon," Kaiba remarked with distaste, although he was slightly impressed the other man possessed such a powerful dragon as that of Alexandrite.

"Both are mere pawns," Reo assured as he ended his turn, "I appreciate the power of dragons, and I'll use them as I see fit. They are, however, only worse for you."

Kaiba glanced at his cards after drawing and said, "I take pleasure in confusing you, Hamada. I summon Assault Wyvern in attack position, and I'll use the spell card Shrink to halve your Alexandrite dragon's original attack."

"Krystal Dragon, blast Blizzard Dragon and Assault Wyvern, decimate Alexandrite Dragon!" Kaiba ordered as the thin, violet-blue dragon overtook its target with one blast. In total, Reo lost a total of 1800 life points, matching Kaiba's 6000. Because the drop in life points was substantial this time around, Reo felt the same pain that Kaiba did. He couldn't believe the way his limbs suddenly didn't listen to his mental orders, how they were temporarily paralysed.

Yugi worriedly scrunched his face as he watched the same fate befall Reo. He didn't know the man, or what about him that irked Kaiba, but a sense of sympathy was still felt.

"That is _nothing_ compared to the pain you'll feel after losing," Kaiba coldly commented as it was his turn to savor the other's downfall.

"I activate my trap - Torrential Reborn!" Reo shouted out in battle with his weaking body, "When a face-up water monster is destroyed, I get to revive it back, and you're dealt 500 points of damage!"

Kaiba felt the air choke himself as his life points fell to 5500. He grasped his neck in astonishment. He breathed out in raspiness, "A waste. When Assault Wyvern destroys a monster in battle, I can tribute it in order to summon Blue Eyes White Dragon! It'll be over before you know it. "

It seemed as if the expanse of the arena was insufficient to house the magnificence of the dragon as its holographic presence came to light. It was significantly larger than any previous dragon summoned, and its entrance was animated by its ear-splitting roar. Reo could feel the windy breath of the magnificent creature as it revealed the inside of its mouth, baring its rows of fangs ( 3000 / 2500). He could feel _fear_ in his heart, although he knew perfectly well it was nothing more than a mere hologram. For some reason, it felt as if this one was particularly more realistic, as if it had a vendetta against him.

Kaiba stood in awe at his own monster, genuinely missing its presence. Despite carrying the cards for the Blue Eyes close to him, that rapturous rush that occurred when he summoned it was different...differently blissful.

"Go on, Blue Eyes. End that Blizzard Dragon's misery for the last time," Kaiba commanded, urging Blue Eyes to obliterate the other's dragon with its signature white lightning.

"You opened my face- !"

As Reo's life points fell from 6000 to 4800, he could feel his own health deteriorate. It felt like the closer he got to 0, the more his real energy depleted. He felt as if everything around him were a hallucination. Every muscle in his body suddenly had a mild ache, and even his respiratory system was having trouble soaking in oxygen. Despite his agony, a small, wry smile made out on his face as his right hand trembled going up. He only had one card in left in his hand, and it would be enough to turn around the entire duel.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes as he noticed Reo's smile. He said, "Out with it already. Or are you going to simper all day?"

"I appreciate your sympathy, Mr. Kaiba," Reo sarcastically retorted, "I think it is you who is more eager to lose. I reveal my other face down - the Quick Spell Revenge Sacrifice."

Kaiba's face started paling.

"Your Blue Eyes hasn't lived very long, has it? With this spell, I can sacrifice the monster that destroyed Blizzard Dragon in order to special summon one monster from my hand," Reo declared as he revealed his only card.

As Kaiba gaped at his disappearing Blue Eyes, despite not losing any life points, he experienced a burning in his _heart_. One hand grasped over the left of his chest as the other stabilized him by holding onto the handrail. He was far too young to be experiencing what seemed like a heart burn. He panted hard, as if the air was suddenly bereft of oxygen. He was so busy with his own shortcoming that he wasn't even paying attention to Reo's words. Despite his eyes wide open, his vision turned to black for a brief moment and he thought he could make out the outline of an all too familiar white figure. He desperately gasped for air and blinked hard, suddenly able to discriminate the world around him.

"- And I summon Buster Blader," Reo proudly announced as his ace monster emerged from the death of the Blue Eyes. The warrior bragged its giant sword toward Kaiba's remaining Krystal Dragon with original stats ( 2600 / 2300 ). He added, "And as you probably hate to know, Buster Blader gains 500 attack points for every dragon both on your field and graveyard. I believe that's a total of 2000 points gained."

The duel system confirmed Reo as Buster Blader's attack points rose to 4600.

"Because Krystal Dragon battled this turn, I get to add another Level 8 Dragon Monster from my deck to my hand," Kaiba barely let out as his duel disk ushered the card he wished for, "And that ends my turn."

Reo drew a card, grimacing as he found it useless. He ordered, "I suppose I'll only attack you this turn. Buster Blader, slay his Krystal Dragon!"

Kaiba took another heavy hit as his dragon fell in compliance to Buster Blader's sword. His life points fell from 5500 to 3400, and so did _he._ He felt his knees collide with the ground and one hand barely holding onto the railing. If he weren't so focused on winning, he would've regretted his own conditions. Everything was _so_ cloudy as he tried to clarify his being. His hand shook at incomprehensible frequencies as he drew his next card. He unsteadily rose and said, "I'll first set a card face down. Then, I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands in defense mode. Its effect allows me to search for a Ritual Spell or Ritual Monster from my deck. With Chaos Form, I ritual summon Blue Eyes Chaos Dragon!"

If the Blue Eyes White Dragon was impressive, then no words could describe the sheer force that unleashed upon the field as Blue Eyes Chaos Dragon appeared ( 3000 / 0). Its body had an ethereal glow, exuding neon cyan lasers.

"What _is_ that?" Reo took a step back as the dragon unveiled the inside of its mouth, making snapping noises toward his Buster Blader. He was sure he'd recognize the creature from art and one of the costly dragon jets flown over Battle City just last week, but he was a stranger to the effects of it.

"Your defeat," Kaiba brashly answered as he motioned for his dragon, "When I used the Chaos Form Ritual, I had to banish Blue Eyes from my graveyard, so while I might summon a new dragon, your Buster Blader's attack remains the same."

Reo grimaced.

"But of course, that doesn't matter, because when Chaos Dragon declares an attack, I can change the position of your monster to defense position. Once I do, his defense power disappears."

Buster Blader was forced to kneel and switch to defensive mode. Suddenly, his defense power dropped to 0. Reo glared at his ace, feeling powerless to change his predicament.

"And mind you, Chaos Dragon deals _piercing_ damage," Kaiba added with a grim smile as his dragon unleashed one giant burst, demolishing Buster Blader.

Reo's life points dropped from 4800 to 1800, and the damage was worse for him.

"I end my turn. It'd be a shame if this were the last time I do."

It was Reo's turn to collapse onto his knees. Kaiba's mockery sickened him more than any injury the duel system could inflict upon him, however. With his ace monster gone, he started seeing less and less of a chance at winning. One hand clasped his forehead as if it could help the massive headache that brewed. He clenched his teeth and mentally screamed for everything to just stop. He _couldn't_ lose. Not now. Not when he still had a chance. Not when he had to keep everything he had been orchestrating the past couple months still a secret. Reo couldn't just lose _her_ like this. The night before confirmed everything he felt about her and only strengthened his persistence.

"If you think I'm going give up on her now," Reo audibly voiced even as he cowered in light of his weak body, "Then you're underestimating my loyalty."

"Don't ever make a claim about loyalty," Kaiba snapped as he stared down on his opponent's crouched position, "You clearly have no moral understanding of what that word means."

"Tch...you wouldn't feel sympathy for me even if I told you my reasonings behind my choice," Reo spat out as he bid his time. At his current state, he couldn't move very well to play.

"Well, I wouldn't care in the first place. Like I said, I don't care what you do to your wife."

"But you clearly care about the person I scorn her with," Reo taunted. Annoying Kaiba was another method that made his pain bearable. He continued, "I don't for a second believe your claims, but I also think you should have never meddled into her life. You should've never cared-"

"I didn't want to!" Kaiba quipped as he slammed one hand against a machine. Then, he realized that he shouted too quickly that his words became misconstrued, or rather he spoke a suppressed truth too quickly that it was too late to retract his sentiment. His quick anger must have translated into confirmation for Reo, whose face contorted into a smirk. Kaiba took in a deep sigh and calmly said, "Hurry up."

"Well then..." Reo rose up and continued, "It doesn't matter if you didn't want to initially because here you are. Something happened between you and her, and I don't like it one bit. Not for one fucking second. I draw."

With one card card to his hand, he mentioned, "I play Pot of Greed."

Two cards slid into his playing hand, "And this will be over before you know it. First I'll summon Crowned by the Word Chalice in defense position."

A young girl appeared with a sword far too big for her body ( 0 / 2100).

"But she won't last long, and neither will Chaos Dragon," Reo claimed as he played another card, "I use the spell Symbols of Duty. By sending my monster to the graveyard, I get to special summon a monster from either of our graveyards. Since I find your monsters useless, I guess I have no choice but to revive Buster Blader."

Buster Blader returned to the field as Crowned by the World Chalice disappeared ( 4600 / 2300 ).

"Although I can destroy Chaos Dragon with Buster Blader's current level, I can defeat you this turn with this card - " Reo unveiled another spell card, "Destruction Swordsman Fusion - "

Kaiba already knew what was going to happen, but his composure remained stone.

" - Which allows me to use monsters from either field. The monster I choose to summon requires Buster Blader and one dragon as material...which of course is Chaos Dragon!" Reo jabbed a finger toward Kaiba's side and Chaos Dragon started disintegrating. He continued, "I fusion summon Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman!"

A flashier version of Buster Blader emerged on the playing field ( 2800 / 2500 ). His armor was improved on a much bulkier level, and his sword was even more imposing. He sharpened his sword and pointed it toward Kaiba's remaining monster - Manju.

"He gains 1000 attack _and_ defense points for every dragon in your field or graveyard. I believe it remains four."

( 6800 / 6500) glared at Kaiba, who didn't bat one eye at the overwhelming stats.

"Let's not forget his piercing damage. Dragon Destroyer, kill Manju and end this duel!"

Dragon Destroyer's 6800 attack points subtracted by Manju's 1000 defense points was more than enough to wreck Kaiba's remaining 3400 life points, but he was prepared.

"I play the spell Enemy Controller!" Kaiba shouted before Dragon Destroyer could graze his blade on Manju's hide.

Reo bit his tongue, preventing himself from cursing out loud. Of course.

"I set Dragon Destroyer to defense position, ending his attack."

Reo could've punched Kaiba's fancy machines, but he remained relaxed. He warned, "I end my turn, but you don't have a monster in your deck that could top Dragon Destroyer. Your strongest monsters are dragons, and they'll only strengthen him. Additionally, any dragon you summon will just be switched to defense position _and_ none of your dragons can activate their effects. You've stalled your defeat long enough, _Kaiba_."

He pronounced his opponent's name with such distaste, and it was the first time he had ever addressed his boss without "Mr."

Kaiba's eyes nearly twitched as he looked at his only card in hand. It was the Blue Eyes White Dragon he had added to his hand from Krystal Dragon's effect a couple turns ago. But he couldn't summon it when he only had Manju out on the field. His eyes lifted toward the overhead of the arena, where Yugi was supposed to be, but the tinted windows prevented him from seeing the other man. He had a feeling that Yugi was staring down on him, and something else told him that Yugi was praying for him to draw the card he needed. He could easily imagine Yugi telling him, at this moment, to believe in the-

 _Heart of the cards, my ass!_

Kaiba scowled and in one rapid movement drew his card. It was Graceful Charity.

 _Huh._

He raised both his eyebrows in slight astonishment.

"I play Graceful Charity," Kaiba claimed, raising the card in face of Reo, who looked to the side in annoyance.

"Another delay. Congrats."

The next three cards he drew had to have some way for him to win, or at least get rid of Dragon Destroyer. He eyed his remaining facedown, knowing fully well how he was planning to use it. His hand slightly trembled as he made another move at his cards.

 _Why can't I pick these cards up?_

He blinked a couple of times as his hand stood frozen atop his cards. A stream of curses ran through his head until one voice broke everything.

 _ **You have warm hands Kaiba...warmer than most people would imagine.**_

That wasn't his voice.

Kaiba's eyes widened as he suddenly recalled that woman's words. His hand started stabilizing, and he found himself capable of drawing three cards. For a second, he could somewhat feel the same sensation he had when she touched his hand - electric. How bizarre.

"Because of Graceful Charity's effect, I send two cards to the graveyard," he mentioned after drawing.

Dragon Destroyer's stats increased ( 8800 / 8500 ).

"Did you just discard two dragons?!" Reo exclaimed in shock as he realized what Kaiba just did. He couldn't believe his own eyes as he continued, "I didn't realize I was dueling an _idiot_."

Ignoring Reo's ridicule, Kaiba said, "You're not the only one who can sacrifice monsters, Hamada. I target Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman, as a tribute in order to use the spell card Soul Exchange."

Reo complacent disposition immediately fell.

"I admit that Dragon Destroyer is tough to beat, and as much as I want to destroy him with a dragon, I can't," Kaiba confessed, "For someone who wanted to kill my Blue Eyes, you haven't defeated any of my Blue Eyes by destroying or targeting them. Simply from tributing them. So I'll return the favor. By tributing Manju and your Dragon Destroyer, I'm able to summon Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Reo felt his forehead sweat as soon as his faithful monster decomposed and the Blue Eyes returned to the field, with an aura of retribution as its jaws once again opened and breathed fast winds onto his side. He held his forearm in front of his face as he retorted, "I still have a chance! Soul Exchange skips your battle phase this turn!"

"But can you defeat Blue Eyes when you have no cards facedown or in your current hand?" Kaiba mocked, "Your future depends on one draw. I end my turn."

Reo couldn't look straight at the Blue Eyes. For some reason, it hurt. His hand rested on top of his deck. Like Kaiba before, he became rigid.

"Any day, _Hamada,_ " Kaiba said his name with as much abhorrence as Reo did to him.

Reo hand felt cold as he drew his card. He smirked.

"I play Raigeki," he announced, " - destroying all monsters on your field...which is only Blue Eyes."

He waited...waited for a look of panic on Kaiba's face. Instead, he saw him fall.

As Blue Eyes was shattered by a bolt of lightning, it felt as if Kaiba's own body was torn apart. He let out a scream so horrible that it even made Reo feel the slightest bit of concern. It made absolutely no sense. His life points weren't touched at all, yet here he was, collapsing onto the floor. He breathed in heavily and fast, clinging desperately onto consciousness. He didn't know why, but the region that pained him the most was his cardiac area, where his heart felt like it was exploding. Again, his eyesight blackened to nothingness, with only the faint outline of a woman.

"I end my turn. This has to be some ploy," Reo growled in disbelief, "Raigeki doesn't inflict damage to your life points. You can't feel pain unless your life points lower."

"Shut up...shut up….shut up!" Kaiba shrieked as one hand slammed atop the handrail as he forced himself to stand up. The rate of his action caused unbelievable nausea as he stood up. He drew with what little energy he had. His tone became menacing as he realized what he just drew.

"Do you even know what I've had facedown this entire time? You were too busy trying to shove Buster Blader in my face that you've forgotten! You should've gotten rid of my facedown when you had the damn chance, Hamada!"

Reo recognized how much pain Kaiba was in, from the way a veil of sweat emerged onto his face to the way he was quaking all over. He narrowed his eyes and quietly said, "Tell me."

"What I have facedown is the trap Return from the Different Dimension."

Reo took a step back as he realized how he had gotten played.

"I _was_ going to only summon back the Blue Eyes I had to banish for Chaos Dragon. That would be more than enough to kill you already…" Kaiba took in a deep breath and forcefully let out, "But I'm not going to be so charitable. Before I play my facedown, I'll use the spell SOUL RELEASE!"

For the entirety of the battle, Yugi was on edge. He had listened intently to every piece of dialogue that the two duelists exchanged. He was intrigued by their methods and at some points, confused. He had a feeling someone else was involved in the happening of this duel, but he was hopelessly clueless as to whom. Some woman, maybe. But that wasn't on his current state of mind. Right now, he couldn't believe the move Kaiba was about to play. Panic beat into his heart as he feared, not for Kaiba, but for Reo Hamada.

He had to stop this duel from continuing. Yugi dove toward the computers and started typing at lightning speed, but every solution he tried was futile. Kaiba had already programmed the duel to lock with no way out aside from losing.

"You can't forfeit this duel, the contract you signed said so!" Kaiba shouted as he noticed all life escape Reo, "Soul release lets me target up to 5 cards in my graveyard and banish them. I choose the two Blue Eyes White Dragons and the two Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragons I discarded by Graceful Charity!"

"Kaiba, don't do this!" Yugi yelled toward the glass, unheard by either.

"And then I'll play my facedown! By paying half of my life points," Kaiba was knocked down onto one knee as his life points fell from 3400 to 1700, but his tenacity held his voice, "I get to special summon _as many_ banished monsters as I want! I'll summon the four I just banished _and_ the Blue Eyes White Dragon from before!"

All five dragons cried out as they hastily returned, sending an earthquake throughout the entire stadium. The beat of their monstrous wings ushered in rushing gales, knocking both duelists off their feet.

 _The impact is going to-_

"Kaiba," Yugi softly whispered underneath his breath, horrified. His hand quivered as he reached out toward the glass, and his eyes broadened as the catastrophic scene in front of him unfolded. His throat felt caught up as he was rendered useless behind the transparent boundary. Once his finger touched the coolness of the glass, he weakly delivered, "No…get out."

" **KAIBA, GET THE HELL OUT!** "

But his screams and incessant pounding against the glass were inaudible to the collisions detonating inside the duel arena.

Yugi had to shut his eyes. He couldn't stop Kaiba from declaring his attacks. Several emotions ran through his head, and he was unable to choose one to act upon. There were too many questions that he was sure would be left unanswered. Eventually the cacophony of explosions ceased to exist, but Yugi still couldn't pry open one of his eyes.

Silence lasted for a good bit before he could hear a door creak open. Heavy footsteps were heard.

Yugi's eyes flashed open and he swiftly turned around to see a limping Kaiba. As soon as the door behind Kaiba shut, Yugi sped walked straight into his direction and stopped alone foot away, shouting, "The hell was that?!"

Kaiba didn't bother to meet his eyes and simply looked away.

"What could that man have possibly done to deserve that?! I _saw_ the settings for your duel, Kaiba! You deadlocked that duel _and_ set it so that the duel only ends when winner's turn ends! You planned this!"

"I _didn't_ kill him."

"You put him in a _coma_!"

"Maximum one week."

" _Oh my god_ ," Yugi sighed in frustration and ran both his hands through his spiked hair, "That's not the point! I know you're rich, but do you know how much medical bills are?! Especially for duel-related injuries?! What did he even do to you?!"

"It's not what he did to _me_ ," Kaiba weakly asserted, "It's what he did to _her."_

" _Her_?" Yugi repeated in confusion. He heard the two duelists refer to such a person, but he couldn't for the life him piece it together.

"Kisara."

 _Kisara?_ Yugi blinked, thinking it was weird Kaiba chose to refer to her like that. All this time, all he heard was _Amano, Amano, Amano_ from his mouth. He was so caught up in his perplexity that he failed to notice Kaiba falling against the door, until the sound of contact reverted him back into reality.

"Kaiba!" Yugi shouted in concern as he started moving forward to grab Kaiba's arm.

"Don't touch me," Kaiba held one hand up in decline.

"This really isn't the time to be-"

"Yugi," Kaiba addressed in a tone so sincere it made Yugi scared. His eyebrows were furrowed as he met Yugi's eyes, "I'm going to pass out soon, and when I do, _don'_ t tell Mokuba...not while he's on vacation with his girlfriend."

"Kaiba-"

"I can't have him come back just to watch over me when I already have capable doctors. I can't have him take care of me…" Kaiba drifted as he started sliding down. Something was eating him away. He quietly added, "Not again."

And the world went black.

* * *

 _Glowing. She tended to do that as her figure seemed to float across the sands. Maybe it was him imagining it, but her pale body underneath the moonlight had that distinguishable glow. He didn't move as her body enclosed near him, and her touch was so cool it sent shivers through his body._

 _Her delicate hands traversed from cupping his face to south, where she stopped at his chest._

 _Before he knew it, someone else had pinned him down, and her figure evaporated into thin air. A tanned hand braced his neck down, and the other held a sharp object. It plunged straight into his heart._

Kaiba gasped in terror and tried to sit up from his slumber, but he found himself restricted as his body immediately retracted back onto a pillow. He could barely understand his surroundings. In his peripheral vision, he could barely make out a bunch of rectangular shapes. He breathed in and out as he felt his body produce cold sweats, only having the bare ceiling as comfort. After what felt like a millennia, he finally calmed down. He slowly tried sitting up.

Everything was a blur. Nothing was crystal. No. Maybe one thing was.

A blob of white hair on a figure was enough to trigger an irritated response.

" _Kisara_ ," he hissed in distaste, "Go away! I'm sick of you. You've bothered me enough!"

The figure didn't budge. Beeping in the background judged every second, that and Kaiba's heartbeat that seemed to amplify all over his body. A gentle voice spoke up.

"...It's not Kisara."

The scenery was beginning to become a bit clearer, but his face remained displeased as soon as he recognized her. Her normally lively face was gaunt with anxiety and exhaustion. Blue eyes seemed to pierce right through his soul. She took one hand and pinned some of her unruly white hair behind one ear.

"I'm only Amano," she more firmly asserted, "and you're only Kaiba."

Believing it to be another unforgiving hallucination, he harshly ordered, "Prove it!"

She didn't move for a bit, perhaps thinking over her plan of action. Eventually, her figure seemed to float over to his right side, and before he could do anything, he felt both her hands enclose on his dueling hand. She gently forced his index finger and middle finger to press against the softness of her flesh underneath her jawline. He could feel a viable pulse, back and forth vibrating against the small surface area of a mere two fingers. How delicate and calm it was in comparison to his seemingly loud and thunderous heartbeat. Her hands fell to her side, but his hand remained still.

That damn piece of hair of hers had escaped from behind her ear again.

His hand drifted upwards from her neck, tucking the wild piece carefully behind her ear. She didn't flinch. His hand slowly retracted, with such hesitation from desiring more to touch, but of course he shouldn't and wouldn't.

" _Amano,"_ he tested out her name as if he hadn't said it in a while. It was a relief to know it was the real her and not a relic of an unwanted past. His temporary tranquility ended as an unseemly question slipped out his tongue, "Are you fine?"

She thought he definitely went insane.

* * *

 **More notes:** Sorry for the cliffhanger, but next chapter is a lot, too much to add to this chapter. Last chapter was supposed to belong here too, but I underestimated the length of a duel.

Maiden with Eyes of Blue is a tuner card, so it shouldn't really exist in this era, but I wanted this little Easter egg in. That's why it's not a playable card in this story. Also, a lot more of Kisara next chapter :) I promise! Thanks for reading!

 **Review Responses:**

 **WBAD:** Oh no LOL There's amazing Blueshipping fics currently out there! :) Thanks for recognizing my efforts for Hamada's character! I definitely didn't want to portray him as a one dimensional guy, so I'm glad my point came across. Of course I don't condone his choices, but I try to make them reasoned.

Really glad the tension between the two was recognizable. Honestly, at first, I was so confused on how I wanted Kaiba to approach him. As much as I wanted him to be UltimateAss™, I figured he'd have to be calm and continue his denial agenda. I'm pleased you think his denial is in line with his character, I feel like there's so many ways for him to show affection but they all have to be super toned down at first.

LMAO I think Kaiba is OG edgelord before Zane came along!

Super happy you're enjoying this fic and all the details I have to offer! Hope you continue reading because your review makes my day too ^_^

 **zipzipper:** I don't mind! Hmm, I will say that I don't think it's too out of character, as this fic is years later since the anime, and a lot can happen in so many years. I have my reasons that I'll reveal later in the plot, which hopefully makes things more convincing :) Thanks for reading!

 **Ai Star:** Definitely uh oh

 **Juella:** I don't even know what I was thinking when I wrote out the gym portion tbh! Originally I was going to leave it out, but I wanted more normal moments between the two, so I got inspiration from Kaiba's abs!

Thank you so much about Kaiba and Hamada! It was definitely something I thought over and over about.

 **itxprincessxlala:** Ahhh thank you for noticing Kaiba's subtle emotions I try to make! Hopefully this chapter is better since it's longer, but that depends if you enjoy duels haha I'll have a lot of Kisara's thoughts next chapter!

 **Bleach power:** A pity the God cards are gone by the time period of this story because Atem left :,) I wish I could pull off Kaiba magically summoning Obelisk, but that's already done in DSOD. I think a 5 dragon kill is enough :)

 **Informal Anthropology:** Last chapter was supposed to be attached to this one, but the duel was pretty long. Didn't mean for the confusion! I also felt that putting Kaiba's confrontation to Hamada and the duel itself in the same chapter would've been too much :)

Glad you're still enjoying reading my story! And I hope I'll continue to entertain you with my plot bunnies!


	16. Chapter 15: Orbit

"Stay with me tonight."

Kisara whispered into Reo's ears as her lips trailed down toward his bare shoulder. Her hands softly gripped each arm of his, pleading for him not to leave her bed as he sat on its edge. His right hand went up to feel her cool hand on his opposite arm. He licked his lips as he glanced outside her bedroom window, where the crescent moon shone quite visibly above the brightness of Domino City.

She nipped his flesh, only to be told, "I can't."

Reo slid away as he stood up, gently removing her hands. He picked up his clothes and started dressing himself.

Kisara blinked at his brief response, tugging her sheets to cover herself. She mentioned as her eyes were downcast, "It's been a while since you've spent a night."

As he tightened his belt around his waist, Reo coolly reasoned, "My mother is sick. I...can't afford missing one night knowing each one could be the last."

She looked up and said in a rush, "Oh! I'm sorry...I-I've just been curious...it's just that we used to a lot...and you've suddenly stopped-"

"I know," Reo softly assured as he cupped her chin with one hand. He lifted her face, something constantly on his mind, and planted one quick kiss on those familiar lips. He added, "I'm sorry too. I know I haven't been spending time with you recently, but I promise that has nothing to do with how much I love you."

"It's fine!" She exclaimed as her face got flushed from his peck, "I understand. Between work and your mother, you shouldn't burden yourself with me." Kisara reached out for her sleeping robe, encased herself in its softness, and followed Reo our her bedroom door.

"Do you really think you're a burden to me?" Reo scoffed as he turned around just as he reached the front door. He crossed his arms and looked down at her, "I don't think you understand how much you mean to me, Kisara. I say this a lot, but I do mean it when I say just your voice over the phone is enough to send me over the moon. Imagine how happy I am when I actually get to see you."

Kisara picked apart his crossed arms and slid her body against his in one deep hug. She muttered, "You spoil me. Especially today."

Reo rubbed her back as he asked, "How so?"

"Just everything today. Dinner and a drive around the city. I forget how beautiful Domino can be," she said as her head raised up, "I'm happy when you're near too...I can forget about everything else for a bit."

As Reo continued staring into her eyes, his chest tightened and his body temperature increased as he thought about _tomorrow._ He fought his panic by swooping in and initiating a deep kiss, pulling her closer to him, trying to salvage her scent and her warmth - quite possibly being the last time. Her paralleled response quelled his panic, and for a moment, everything felt right. The situation he placed himself in no longer mattered.

Eventually they broke away, both short of breath.

"So are you going out, or are you staying?" Kisara lightheartedly joked.

"Right," Reo chuckled as his hand unlocked the door. When he took one step out the door, he turned and in light of her humor, sarcastically said, "Maybe I should ask Seto Kaiba for less hours. I think I could get him to agree, seeing as he probably undervalues my position. Although, I don't think he would like my reasonings."

Kisara smile budged a slight degree lower as the other man's name left her boyfriend's tongue. Several thoughts, ones that she had successfully shut away for an entire day, came crashing in unwelcome. Her hands suddenly felt jittery, and she hid them by crossing her arms.

It was only yesterday that she had paid the CEO a good-bye, and she meant for everything about him to stop right then and there. But they didn't. Not even her will could impede the flurry of emotions that coursed through her body, through every vein and atom.

"I'm sorry, what?" Kisara meekly responded as her face grew blank. She could only process _Seto Kaiba_ and nothing else.

Reo's eyebrows scrunched together as he noticed her confusion. Not thinking much, he laughed and ran a hand through his hair. He remarked, "Nevermind. I…"

Kisara could swear her vision was getting cloudier. Her hands gripped her arms in an attempt to stabilize herself. She squinted her eyes as she watched Reo's lips form words.

"I love you, Kisara."

Her vision cleared up, but for some reason her head was filled with someone other than the man standing right in front of her. With the oddest sense of what she could only identify as guilt, she routinely replied, "I love you, too."

Reo landed one kiss on her forehead before wishing her good night. Once Kisara shut her door, her head drooped as she pressed it against the door.

 _No...no...I'm not making any sense._

She felt so ill. Her stomach was queasy and she had amassed a headache. With a defeated sigh, she strode over to her bathroom and took a good look at her reflection.

Reo's surprise date was everything she could ask for from a boyfriend. Tonight was amazing, and she couldn't give it up for anything. He had been wonderful to her, better than she could say for past romances. But why... _why_ did those last words with him feel so empty? She couldn't string around that same sense of passion the first time around.

Something was dying in her, while something she didn't want was being born. However, she wasn't entirely sure if she _didn't_ want it to manifest into something greater. It wasn't morally right, but flashes of familiar cobalt eyes and honey brown hair kept recurring in her head. She turned on her sink and started brushing her teeth, trying to distract herself with a menial task.

Once she slipped into the comforts of her bed, Kisara found it hard to peacefully shut her eyes. She knew that once she drifted off into a slumber, she would see _him_ again, or at least some remnant from an ancient time she could barely comprehend, and she would once again wake up with a feeling of emptiness. Her hand grasped her forehead, thinking she'd gone insane.

But she'd been this way for the longest time.

She groaned as she pulled her sheets over her head. It was simple. At least, it was supposed to be. Whatever she had learned about Kaiba, nothing was behind that iron fortress. As much as she shared about herself, she couldn't seem to detract much from in behind surface-level information. She supposed the most intimate thing he shared was a couple statements about Mokuba. He was a good listener, she supposed. He had an intent to listen to her ramblings and had classic snide comments that more so amused her than displease her. She had the oddest feeling, one akin to a baseless hunch, that he had some ounce of concern for her wellbeing, and that he perhaps was more curious about her than he let on.

However, she wasn't exactly transparent with him either. There were just some things she didn't care to share with anyone, but some part of her always wanted to retaliate against that dogma every time she was with him. She kept herself strong. They had their own planets separate, but she had always secretly longed for a moment they could someday be within each other's same orbit.

"Ah _shit_ ," Kisara harshly whispered to herself. She was thinking about him again when she wasn't supposed to, especially when the man she _should've_ had her thoughts on only left moments ago. She pulled her sheets off her and sat up straight. Her fingers hovered over her lips as a perpetual fear bloomed in her stomach. She shifted toward her side, leaned to open her drawer, and scoured for a certain bottle of pills.

She would get her dreamless sleep tonight.

* * *

Wednesday evening, Kisara groaned as she hit her head against the kitchen counter in Mai and Joey's shared apartment. Her head was buried deep into her arms as the sounds of the couple bickering over how to cook the katsu suddenly died down.

"Aye, what's your problem?" Joey peered as he stepped towards the hopeless girl, "You missin' Serenity dat much, eh? Me too."

"Ugh, Joey," Mai commented as her eyes rolled. One hand firmly held a kitchen tool as she continued, "Even though she probably does, it's kind of clear there's trouble in paradise."

"Paradise?!" Joey exclaimed as he rubbed his chin. It took a while for him to understand before firmly saying, "Hmph. Just break up wit' him. Easy."

Kisara slowly lifted her head and squinted hard at Joey, who genuinely appeared to be truthful in his words. Before she could say anything, Mai interjected, "Great advice, champ. Like that would solve everything."

"Well if you just break up wit' him, I don't see why you'd have anymore problems!" Joey exclaimed as he closed his eyes and snapped his fingers, "It's simple!"

"Really off the mark," Mai retorted.

"Women are complicated."

"Men are simple."

"That's why we get shit done."

"Tell that to the katsu in the trash because of your poor judgement."

"Mai."

"Joey."

"Guys!" Kisara exclaimed as she raised her hands up a if to cease the argument, "I appreciate both your observations, but I'm just exhausted. Really. I just didn't get good sleep, and the café was crazy as usual."

"Are you sure?" Mai asked as one hand was on her hip, "You've had poor sleep and busy work days before."

"Yeah...you've been pretty depressed the moment you stepped in...and we're making tonkatsu!" Joey added, "There's gotta be more to this."

Kisara wanted to flee out the door as the two blondes stared her down in suspicion. Her fingers fidgeted as she nervously said, "I mean, I wasn't lying when I said I didn't get good sleep last night…" Her voice drifted off as she considered complaining about her dreams. She mentioned seeing Kaiba once or twice before, and she figured mentioning that would trace her back to him. She clasped her hands together.

"It's just, um," Kisara shook her head slightly, "Do you ever just...can't get rid of someone?"

"Ugh, yes," Mai quickly answered, "Jean Claude Magnum still leaves me messages through various numbers. You would think a restraining order would be enough."

"If you need someone gone, I gotchu!" Joey declared as he pointed to himself.

"It's not like that," Kisara slowly protested as she tried finding words again, "I _don't_ want to care for them. They _don't_ want to care about me. But...there's just _something_ there between us that we can't fight but neither of us wants...at least ideally."

"Ideally?" Mai lowered the fire as she examined Kisara's confusing notions. Her eyebrows furrowed as she asked, "Are you saying you actually want to care about them? What's preventing you guys from acknowledging that something?"

"What's so wrong about showing someone you care about 'em?" Joey further questioned. His open personality came through as he said, "I do dat wit' everyone. You gotta show your friends some love once in a while."

Kisara felt herself dissociate slightly from the current situation. It seemed like both didn't fully understand her point, but she figured they couldn't help it since she kept everything so vague. Just how different would their opinions be if she told them who she was talking about?

"It seems like the only barrier between you two is yourselves," Mai remarked.

"I mean, there isn't someone holding you two at gunpoint, right?" Joey offered, "Who even are they?"

"Someone really difficult and complex," Kisara quietly answered as her hands pinned her hair behind her ears, "but nonetheless fascinating. I...think we both have things left unsaid, and it's eating at me."

Joey shook his head as he retorted, "Sorry, Kisara, but I really can't help you if you're bein' so secretive about whoever dis is. I'll let ya know that I think if they're botherin' you so much, then clearly you gotta talk about whatever it is you have wit' 'em. In da end, it's for your own good, right? I hate seein' ya like this."

"Joey's right for once," Mai mused as a joke, landing herself a glare from her boyfriend, who resumed to his kitchen duties, "You got a good head on your shoulders. I'm sure it won't be a problem to confront them."

Kisses nodded her head lamely. She silently watched the couple cook dinner, and she felt a tinge of jealousy on the fringe of her heart as the two shared clever and teasing banter in the process. She longed for the casualness of Mai and Joey's relationship. They seemed incredibly comfortable with one another. Seeing them forced her to rethink her current relationship.

Reo tried his hardest, she knew, but his work hours were unfavorable, and his recent inability to often keep her company in his free time slowly sunk her trust. She supposed she was busy herself as well, so she couldn't possibly put the blame of a work schedule and a sick mother entirely on him. However, their lack of communication caused her to withhold some of herself. Perhaps she was a bit greedy, but some part of her wanted to be a bit selfish. Some part of her cried out for someone who could take in all of her problems that she kept locked away in a vault, so hidden that she couldn't even bother to share the combination with her closest friends.

 _What makes you think a busier man like Seto Kaiba would have the time of day for you?_

Kisara's face suddenly grew hot as a crazy thought popped in her mind. She must have lost more sleep than calculated. One manicured finger poked at her own cheek, as if to test her own embarrassment.

"Is it too hot in here?" Mai asked in concern as she noticed Kisara's disposition, "You're glowing red, sweetie."

"No!" Kisara yelped in such a hurry that it made both Mai and Joey fidget in surprise. She immediately added in a calmer manner, "I - I'm fine. Sorry."

"Yeesh," Joey clicked his tongue in disapproval, "Whoever is bothering you must be really special."

"Hardly," she disagreed halfheartedly.

Mai suddenly glared at her in suspicion for a good ten seconds, causing Kisara to fidget around in her seat. Kisara inwardly winced as she imagined her friend dissecting her thoughts. Mai had that all-knowing vibe to her. Even if she didn't know much about a topic at hand, her intuition was impressively sound. The blonde woman shook her head and continued with her tasks.

Once Mai and Joey finished, the three settled down in a relatively small, round dining table. They all mentioned at least one work story, with Joey expressing his usual concern with the children he worked with, Mai complaining about one or two sassy clients, and Kisara stressing over overseeing new kitchen workers. Eventually, they got around talking about Mokuba and Serenity.

"Even if she video chats wit' me and updates me through text everyday, I'm still so anxious for her to come back," Joey confessed as his eyebrows scrunched together.

"We're having this conversation every night until Sunday, aren't we?" Mai chuckled.

"I mean," Joey let go of his utensils and threw his hands in the air, "Dat's my baby sister we're talkin' about here! Sure she's smart and everythin' on paper, but what about when it comes to real situations? I'm telling you, it's-"

As Joey continued off on his tangent, Mai snuck a glance at Kisara, leaned towards her, and whispered, "This'll be over in like 5 minutes."

Kisara nervously smiled and nodded her head, facing Joey while listening to Mai at the same time. She continued eating her food, savoring every bite of home cooked tonkatsu.

"-and then this kid tells his brother, who I actually agree with this time around, that he didn't have a right to disagree because the only woman he's been on vacation with was you, Kisara!"

Kisara nearly spat out a piece of the tonkatsu at her name. Joey seemed to look at her as if he could extract some answers from her. She only returned a blank gaze as she grabbed a napkin to wipe her lips.

Mai raised her eyebrows and said, "Well that's new."

Joey's previously determined look crumbled as he realized what he'd said.

"Way to pull a Mokuba," Kisara sarcastically commented.

"Hold on, I want to know," Mai insisted, "Who else knows?"

"Aghhh, damn it, I'm sorry, Kisara!" Joey groaned as he shoved his face into his hands, "I'm so used to sharing everything with Mai that it slipped out. Also, I guess I was too in my feelings to notice."

"What's going on?" Mai asked again in confusion.

"Um," Kisara sighed a bit as she tried untangling the mess of that one vacation. It seemed like the universe was just throwing more excuses at her to remember him. How could she possibly forget Indonesia?

Seto Kaiba was the worst surprise she had ever encountered. It was like fate had throttled her unwillingly, although she _wasn't_ exactly against it.

She sought him first, after all. The moment she finally responded to Reo's incessant calls by taking the initiative to pursue a temporary job at KaibaCorp was a decision based on curiosity and a desire to escape a tarnished fragment of her past. Some part of her, a crazy part that she designated as a last resort, came to light; she had urged herself to meet the man of her nightmares, ones that plagued her head since time immemorial. She had the insane idea that he could perhaps...help her.

Meeting him in his office and over that one lunch with Reo was extremely anti-climactic. The entire time, she was expecting him to mention something, _anything_ that could link her to him. But, really, what did she expect? And she was silent herself too, but who was she as a nobody to suddenly speak of phantasmic hallucinations to a complete stranger?

So by the time Indonesia happened, she had already given up on any notion of a connection to him. Yet, when she was graced by the nude body of Seto Kaiba fresh off a shower, Kisara's hopes shot up. She found herself trying to get to know him, but her efforts were shot down point blank.

The first sign he acknowledged her was when her name slipped out his tongue as he scoured the sea for her body-

"-Kisara?" Mai addressed her friend's name, slightly frightened by her stone disposition.

"Sorry," Kisara broke away from her stream of thought as she answered, "I was just saying that...that vacation I won from KaibaCorp? I ended up having Kaiba as my suite mate."

"Huh?!" Mai shouted out as she suddenly dropped her utensils. The silverware made an audible plunk against the wood. She asked, "How the hell do you just suddenly have the CEO of one of the world's most famous companies just _there_?"

"Certain circumstances from a mix-up happened, and that was all that went between us," Kisara lied, "We agreed to stay out of each other's way and had our own vacations separate from one another. Really...it wasn't that scandalous or anything."

Mai nervously laughed and crossed her arms, "Lord, I feel bad for you. I don't think I could ever live with Kaiba, let alone overseas as well."

"Wait, but," Joey was about to let out how Serenity mentioned that Kaiba had allegedly taken Kisara a ways around the foreign country, but he couldn't be more of a blabbermouth than he already was. It was clear Kisara didn't want to divulge any more details than she already said. He added, "Er-nevermind. Wasn't anything, huh?"

Kisara nodded her head as she continued silently chewing her food. The night was later filled with chatter and gossip about other topics like Téa in New York, Yugi's ailing grandpa, and how Mai was right about the katsu.

* * *

He didn't call her after she left Mai and Joey's apartment that night. She tried calling him but gave up after the third missed call. Weird. He always had time to at least pay her one call.

Reo had complicated everything she thought she would find in Kaiba. She liked his sweet mannerisms and genuine affections. He seemed to have his life put together and was a step above the men she used to frequent. He was comfort when she needed him.

She supposed that other part of her, the worst portion, used Reo as an excuse to avoid Kaiba again, to circumvent everything her visions had urged her to do. She was scared and equally, if not more, guilty of cowardice as Kaiba.

After all, she chose to refrain from Kaiba's questions regarding her dreams and hallucinations, both of which she was both consciously and unconsciously aware. She lied about never experiencing any of the sort in the past.

Despite his small efforts, she purposefully shifted away. Before she thought it was for the best, but if it was, then she wouldn't be feeling absolutely disgusted with herself in present time.

How long had she been staring at Kaiba's phone number? Her back laid flat as she held the screen above her, knowing full well she wasn't going to do anything.

She really hated how much she indulged in thinking about him.

* * *

Kisara had an audition at the modeling agency she was vying for on Thursday. In truth, she wasn't very fond of trying to be one. Her eyes were downcast toward her portfolio as her hands gripped it tightly at the edges. The room she was stuffed in was filled with other girls, all beautiful in their own way and perhaps with more experience that she had. Some were probably a lot younger as well.

There was more money in it than her coffee shop job, and it was better than the other job before.

"Amano," a lady opened the door and announced.

Kisara stood up from her chair, avoiding a couple glances her way. The other women most likely recognized her from a few established KaibaCorp advertisements. Her heart raced as she was guided inside.

After she finished, she walked out. Reo told her a week ago to call him after she was done. He always wanted to know how these things went.

He didn't answer.

Kisara glanced hard at her string of missed calls to her boyfriend. He wasn't answering to any of her texts as well. Something had to be going on. She hoped nothing unfortunate occurred.

She shut her phone and briskly walked towards the subway station. Her head hung low as she avoided more stares her way. She wasn't exactly a notable figure as of yet, but a passerby would be quick to notice who she was. She figured she wasn't famous enough to really attract anyone to confront her out of the blue.

When Kisara was nearly halfway to the subway, she felt a something squeeze her shoulder. Her previously downcast eyes shot forward as her heartbeat multiplied. She suddenly stopped, although her head screamed for her to _run_. It felt as if her entire body had been paralyzed, forced to impede the traffic of city people as they walked around her in annoyance.

Whatever had a hold on her seemed to meld into her flesh, as if it was trying to fuse itself with her.

"Kisara!"

A familiar voice rang out from behind her, and the cold feeling of what felt like a hand dissipated.

She slowly turned around to see Yugi waving with a huge smile on his face. He seemed to be holding a carry out bag of fast food in his other hand.

"You okay? I wasn't going to catch up to you, but you suddenly stopped in the middle of a crowded street," Yugi pointed out, "Not the best thing to do out here. C'mon." He gestured toward his side, toward the wall of a department store.

Kisara followed him, although she really wanted to run away. She observed his attire, one of a typical businessman with the traditional white collared dress shirt, plain black dress pants, and a set of shiny brown leather shoes. He looked like how Reo dressed for his job.

"So, what's got you all up?"

As if by instinct, Kisara put on a smile and a convincing laugh before answering, "Oh, nothing! I suddenly couldn't remember if I locked my apartment or not this morning. Hopefully I did!"

"Ah," Yugi chuckled as his eyes lowered to her portfolio. He asked, "What's that?"

"This? It's just my portfolio. I just finishing auditioning for a modeling agency, actually."

"Modeling agency? I thought you had a contract with KaibaCorp."

"Well, I did, but it's not like KaibaCorp has an actual modeling agency. It was more of a gig thing that just got me exposure. My foot might be in the door, but I still have to open the whole thing. There's only so much Blue Eyes themed modeling I can stand, ha! Maybe I'll come back for next year's Battle City," Kisara explained, trying her best to appear unbothered as her head started filling up with last week's events - when she spent a good chunk of her mornings with Kaiba during Battle City.

She realized a little too late that her head was miles away again when Yugi suddenly looked concerned, and she could finally register his words, "Kisara? Um, I was just saying that I was heading back to KaibaCorp-"

"Of course, of course!" She quickly declared, unaware she had cut him off due to her embarrassment, "I don't want to hold you back! I, um, I have to head back to my apartment and get ready for the café. I'll see you later?"

"I...uh," Yugi stuttered, slightly surprised she had interrupted him. However, she appeared rather anxious to leave, and he didn't want to bother her. He said, "Yeah. Have a good day!"

"You too," she gleefully wished as she started walking away, waving before turning her back on him.

Yugi waved back, with a smile on his face. However, his smile started faltering as he headed back to KaibaCorp. He meant to repeat more. He originally had asked if she wanted to accompany him.

He wanted her to see _him._

* * *

Friday night, Kisara wearily stared at her phone screen. She was on her back, again, and she was looking squarely up, again. She had called Reo an amount that screamed desperate at this point, and each call was unreturned. He had been ignoring her all of Thursday and today.

She placed her phone on her nightstand and tucked herself into her sheets. A billion ideas came to mind as she wondered where and how he was doing. She couldn't even visit his house, as he always said he lived with his mother, and she was apparently unwelcome to guests. There _was_ one option she had. She _could_ venture to KaibaCorp and look for him in his office. However, she'd reckon it would look strange if she hung around his office and asked around. She wasn't supposed to reveal any relationship they had. She thought, however, that she was eventually going to reach a level of desperation that she would. Of course, she would have to-

A ringing bellowed into empty air.

Kisara immediately threw off her bed sheets and reached for her phone. Her other hand swept her hair back as she read the caller id - "yugioh."

She bit her bottom lip in disappointment, letting the call ring a couple moments. She eventually accepted before it ended, lifting the phone to her ear.

"Kisara?"

"Right here!" she merrily sounded, "What's got you calling me so late, Yugi?"

"Ah, sorry if it's a bit late. I thought of texting you, but I really didn't want to be last minute about this, especially when I kind of am already."

"About what?"

"How do I say this…" Yugi seemed to pause as he revised his words, "I've been meaning to invite you to KaibaCorp. Look, I know this is extremely late to ask, but I've been wondering back and forth on whether or not to ask you-"

She held her breath.

"-if you want to visit Kaiba."

Kisara's face instantly contorted into bewilderment as she found herself at a lost for words. She opened her mouth, desiring to ask _why_. Instead, she replied, "I-I'm sorry but I don't think I want to. I'm not very comfortable with him right now, but if he wants to meet me, he's going to have to take me up himself."

"I um...think he needs you right now. He's not in a state to ask you himself."

Kisara's head kept telling her to decline Yugi, as she just did. She thought it was logical to leave things be as is. Yet, it seemed like she was thrown another chance, perhaps a redemption. She wondered why Yugi took the initiative to contact her. How much did he know of her and Kaiba? She wanted to know that too, but she couldn't at this moment.

"Kisara?"

She nearly voiced a _no_. She realized she didn't want to. She realized that she couldn't run away again, not anymore, not like at the gym balcony or at the rooftop of the coffee shop in her teenage years.

"Yeah," she softly replied, apparently so soft that Yugi couldn't hear.

"I know this sounds crazy, and I'm being very general, but it's because he's in-"

"Yugi, I said yes," she raised her voice, but her tone was an amused one. For the first time in a while, she finally felt humor. She firmly added, "I want to see him."

"Oh...oh! Ok! Um, that's great! I'll meet you at the lobby at around 12:25 tomorrow?"

"That would be perfect."

"Alright then. Good night, Kisara!"

"Good night, Yugi."

* * *

"Good afternoon, Kisara!" Yugi cheerfully announced as he stood up from one of KaibaCorp's many seating areas in the lobby.

Kisara warily walked toward her friend, readjusting her purse strap. She replied, "Same to you, Yugi."

"Shall we go?" Yugi gestured toward the elevator.

Kisara nodded her head as she followed him, not knowing exactly what to say. She eventually mustered, "Um, may I ask what your relationship is with Kaiba?"

Yugi furrowed his brows as he thought over that one. He pressed a button and answered, "Well, he's always welcomed as a friend in my book, but I don't know what he thinks of me. We talk because of work. I think we definitely tolerate each other more nowadays."

"It's just...contacting me about him seemed out of the blue," Kisara declared as she looked to her side toward Yugi, who met her gaze, "So how much do you know?"

Yugi smoothly replied, "It seems like I didn't need to reveal anything like that in order for you to come here."

"Sorry, what?"

The elevator bell rang as they reached the top floor. As Yugi walked out, hands in his pockets, he further explained, "I didn't have to explain myself a whole lot over the phone. You didn't even ask for an explanation, despite my broadness. How much I know about you and Kaiba, or how much Kaiba has told me didn't matter last night when you agreed to come, so why should it now?"

Kisara felt her face start to warm as she continued to follow Yugi. He was right that she decided to visit on a whim rather than good reasoning, but she didn't want him to get that notion. She argued, "What if the reason I came here was because I wanted to know just that? I'm just curious how much you know...not even about me or him, but perhaps about other things, and perhaps I could look for answers in you."

Yugi understood that she was alluding to events of an ancient past, one that he was well aware of as well. As easily as he could divulge just about everything she needed to know, he was careful in this choice. He had thought about it for a while, and he had arrived to his decision regarding this issue. He checked in with the guards and opened the office door for Kisara.

"Maybe I do know some things, maybe I don't," Yugi said. Because of his response, Kisara shot him a displeased expression, and her mouth was about to open until he quickly added, "but I can tell you that I don't want to be involved too much. There are some things I want to leave for you two to solve together."

"Then you clearly know some things," Kisara accused. As she stepped into the office area, she found the space to be void of life, without its usual resident in the back center. It took a while for her notice soft beeping noises in the background, one with a steady tempo. She slowly turned her head to where the noise stemmed where, toward someone in what appeared to be a hospital bed. She froze.

Yugi walked to the side of the bed, turning around and silently beckoning her by waving one arm toward his direction. Each step she took was quenched with fear and anxiety. Her face was clearly conflicted, from the way it was rigid, with only her eyes slightly quivering at the edges. She could only stop a foot away in front of the bed. It was clearly Kaiba. She thought he looked rather peaceful, with the way every muscle in his face and body looked calmer than the usual tense aura he gave off.

"Y-Yugi," she stuttered, but her eyes didn't stray away from Kaiba's unconscious body, "I-I don't want to be here. I shouldn't be here." Her chest start welling up in distress, and she felt it difficult to breathe. She couldn't control herself as her hands started trembling, and she tried her hardest to clasp them together. Suddenly, a rush of unwarranted emotions started battling inside of her, ones that she wasn't sure she generated herself. One foot stepped back.

"You can't run away, again, Kisara," Yugi solemnly commented as he noticed her frightened behavior, "You wanted to meet him last night."

"Not underneath these circumstances."

"I know it seems crazy, but I wanted to see your reaction," he confessed as her face finally met his. He thought she believed him to be incomprehensible, but he knew what he was getting into. He continued, "I almost told you last night, but you already agreed. Anyways, like I said, I know some things, and I thought bringing you here would clear some things for you."

"Yugi, this doesn't clear anything at all!" she cried out, her voice cracking towards the end, and she felt her eyes prick with unwanted wetness. "I came to talk to him, not to...not to-"

"Not to feel the way you are right now? You're breaking down," Yugi observed as he watched her hurriedly use the color of her plain black shirt to brush away newly produced tears, "To clarify, it's quite obvious your reaction is a result of something I think you've been repressing for too long. Seeing him like this shouldn't faze you if you didn't have an ounce of care or _memory_. Do you not agree with me? There's a point where you're going to have to confront him and everything that you've been hiding."

"I was going to," she weakly insisted, "finally talk to him. I'm here, right?"

"I don't believe you," he accused with his face expressionless, "You were so quick to run away the moment your emotions came alive that I doubt you would talk about everything."

"Y-Yugi," she muttered underneath her breath. Never had she seen Yugi so unbending, as if he was at the ends of his patience.

"I'm here to tell you that whatever you're feeling right now isn't something you should keep to yourself. I know you're scared, but damn it, _so is he_!" Yugi jabbed one finger in direction to Kaiba. He added, "and I'll be damned if you two keep skirting around. You have to promise me that when he wakes up, you'll be back here to slap my words onto his face because he sure as _hell_ never and _will_ never listen to me!"

Her eyes avoided his as she mumbled, "Why is he like this?" She wasn't only avoiding him, but herself as well as she threw a distracter.

Yugi felt his face puff in red. He knew she wasn't going to confirm anything, but he wasn't exactly happy to push on further. He had said enough, and in the end, it was her choice. He sighed, thinking that if Kaiba had so much pent-up denial, then Kisara was on par. They were on the same level of dissent that it was unbelievable frustrating. He curtly answered, "Dueling."

Kisara quickly twisted her neck towards Yugi, thinking that she could laugh if the atmosphere weren't so tense. She declared, "You're _joking_."

"I wish I was. I _really_ wish I was."

"There's no way dueling could hurt someone this badly."

"There _is_ a way, actually," Yugi sighed, "Thanks to KaibaCorp's dueling tech, if programmed underneath the right settings, shock absorbance, pain receptors, wind speeds, everything can hurt you. Things get extremely real...or even worse than that."

"Did he...lose?" Kisara carefully asked.

"No. He didn't. Neither I or security understands why he's like this. He should've gotten away fine, but the doctors say his brain had signs of intense stress, that it was enough to shut his body down in combination with the impact of the duel. It was bad enough to last since Tuesday."

"Who was he dueling?"

"I can't say due to security reasons. I personally don't know them."

"Then why?"

Yugi wasn't sure if he should say anything. Frankly, he had no clue, as Kaiba's reasons and the dialogue shared in the duel was extremely obscure. He just knew that Kisara had something to do with it, but he thought it would provoke her further if he mentioned it. He said, "I don't know that either."

"Oh."

"I seem useless, huh?" Yugi cracked a small smile, "Seriously, for all the intellect and money he has, he does the most idiotic things."

"But that's why he can afford to be that way," Kisara softly giggled, feeling herself recover a bit.

"Hmm, I can see that," Yugi agreed, as he too laughed a bit. He crossed his arms and said, "I'm really sorry if this impacted you negatively. I know I implied that he'd be the one to talk to you over the call. I didn't mean to be so selfish in my motivations."

"No, it's fine," she displayed a smile, a real one this time and said, "I think I needed that. I'll...consider that promise you mentioned."

"Good to know," he returned, "I'm kind of on the later end of my break now. Have you eaten? I can run down to the company café next door and grab us sandwiches or something."

"I'm fi-" she paused. She glanced at Kaiba and restated, "That would be great. I'd like anything."

"Alright. I'll get you the super special sandwich I always get!" Yugi grinned in declaration, "Guaranteed you'll be blown away! I'll see you soon. Don't let him run away while I'm gone!"

"You don't have to worry about that," Kisara chuckled as she watched the spiky haired man shut the door behind him.

She thought to settle into the couch, but her stance remained still. She ran through Yugi's words once again in her head as the panic in her body quelled. It was strangely nice to know he was looking out for her, and seeing his more assertive side was always a treat in contrast to his normally gentle disposition. She couldn't help but smile again.

Wrinkled sheets made audible noise. Her head slowly reversed toward the bed, and it was as if her heart leapt from her throat.

Kaiba's body jolted upwards unnaturally, and his pupils were contracted as his mouth hung open to grasp every bit of oxygen. His back hit his pillow, body collapsing. It appeared that he was trying his hardest to refocus on his surroundings, eventually landing on her.

She didn't know what to do or whether if she should say anything.

"Kisara," he hissed in distaste, "Go away! I'm sick of you. You've bothered me enough!"

She was confused at first, as she should be, but then she realized that it was uncharacteristic for him to call her by her first name. She had always been _Amano_ to him, so he had to be referring to someone else - that shell of dreams.

"...It's not Kisara."

As she let those words fade, she recognized disbelief still etched on his face. She took one hand and pinned some of her unruly white hair behind one ear.

"I'm only Amano," she more firmly asserted, "and you're only Kaiba."

He harshly ordered, "Prove it!"

She didn't move for a bit, thinking over her plan of action. Eventually, she floated over to his right side, and before he could react, she enclosed his dueling hand. She gently forced his index finger and middle finger to press against the softness of her flesh underneath her jawline, so that he could feel a viable pulse, back and forth vibrating against the small surface area of a mere two fingers. Her hands fell to her side, but his hand remained still.

His hand drifted upwards from her neck, tucking the wild piece carefully behind her ear. She didn't flinch. His hand slowly retracted.

"Amano," he tested out her name, to which Kisara recognized relief in both his voice and face, "Are you fine?"

She thought he definitely went insane, but his face was completely serious, and his tone was truly sincere.

"I don't think you should be asking me that."

"I know what I said."

"Have you seen yourself?" she nearly scoffed at his trademark stubbornness. Despite recently waking from a coma, he seamlessly returned to himself.

"This isn't new. Although it has been a while," Kaiba blandly remarked as he leaned back into his pillow, "Let me guess: I'm in my office at KaibaCorp. Security can't pass me on to a regular hospital, so they had a team come here themselves. I was knocked down in a duel-related incident. I have my memories perfectly retained. Literally the only thing I wouldn't know is how long I've been out, so don't you go assuming I'm _clueless_ about my current state or that I don't have any reasoning behind the questions I ask. So, let's try this again...are _you_ fine?"

Kisara finally coughed out a small laugh, stemmed by both disbelief and amusement. She covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing further. She calmed herself down and retorted, "Seeing as I haven't been unconscious for like, four days, I think I'm perfectly fine."

" _Four_ days?!" Kaiba, bewildered, bellowed out and jolted his body forward. He started ripping whatever patches were on his arms, each attached by a tube to some machine.

"What are you doing?!" Kisara shrieked as she quickly shot forward herself and grabbed both his wrists to prevent himself from destroying his lifelines.

"Get _off_ me, Amano," he commanded as he took back his arms, "Some of us have companies to run."

"And _some of us_ are smart enough to know when to rest, which you clearly _don't know_ how to," she hissed as she continued blocking his attempts.

"Shut up," Kaiba snidely shot back, "You stayed up until like 4 in the morning just to study and write down Duel Monsters rules on fucking _vacation_. Don't you dare lecture me about resting, and don't you dare tell me I don't know what I'm doing!"

"Wait, _what_?" She ceased her attempts at trying to stop his efforts. Kaiba ignored her as he continued ripping off whatever was on his arms. She asked, "How did you know I stayed up that late?"

"I have eyes, you know," he sarcastically stated. He swung his legs over to the side, facing her. He said, "I saw you dead asleep on the couch, and your stuff was everywhere."

Kisara furrowed her brows. Something wasn't right. She watched him set his feet on the ground, and it appeared that the small effort sent Kaiba into a dizzying state. He abruptly fell back, and his hands caught the edge of the bed.

"I never woke up from the couch that weekend. How could I have fallen asleep there?"

Kaiba shook his head and repeatedly opened and shut his eyes. The world around him was getting fuzzy again, and all he could think about was answering her question. He spat out, without a thought, "It's not like you sleepwalked, Amano, I had to carry you to your bed."

"...Oh," Kisara could only say initially. She slowly repeated, " _You_...carried _me_."

"It's _not_ that hard to believe. All I did was-" Kaiba suddenly stopped talking. His arms were in front him, displayed to mimic the bridal style of carrying he did back at the villa. He finally realized what he foolishly just admitted. His arms straightened down as he said, "All I did was see you sleepwalk. You sleepwalked."

"You just said you-" her cheeks were getting pink, trying to envision what had happened.

"I didn't say anything else."

"No, you said-"

"Amano. We're done."

Kaiba tried taking one step, but it was filled with struggle once again.

Kisara couldn't bear to see him acting more adamantly. She said with clenched teeth, "Get back in bed, Kaiba."

" _Tempting_ , but no thanks," he mocked. Before he knew it, he felt himself being pushed back. _She_ had apparently used her hands against his chest to send him toppling backwards, back onto the bed. Normally, he would've been strong enough to resist, but the surprise attack on top of his disheveled state allowed her to overcome him. She worked quickly to push his legs up from the ground, trying her best to slide his entire body back onto the bed. "Woman, what are you doing?!" he shouted out as he put his remaining energy to use by kicking his legs towards her.

Kisara evaded his attempt, making herself jump back a bit. She zoned onto his body, slamming both her hands near the sides of his head. She leaned down toward his face, which got redder by the second, and growled, "If you took me to bed before, then I'll return the favor. It's only polite. You're not getting off until the doctors say you can."

Kaiba could see that she was angry, furious in fact. Her blue eyes never stared down at him so hard, and he could tell from the muscles on her jawline that her teeth grit down. She looked different the last time she was on top of him, back at the hotel when her face was tearing up. It was oddly attractive. However, he decided this time that he didn't like being on the bottom. He snapped his legs together, encompassing his weight around her own body, which in turn caused her to release a yelp. His arms wrapped around her torso as he twisted his body over hers, placing himself onto her. He made sure to keep his face at a distance, but close enough to intimidate her.

Kisara didn't look away. Both her insides and the atmosphere were getting hotter by the second. Her breathing was embarrassingly heavy, relying on her mouth to breathe rather than her nasal passage. For a moment she thought his face softened a bit, and all the determination he had flew away. His eyes disconnected from hers, appearing to travel south distractedly. Immediately, however, his face returned to its former, stoic expression.

"Just leave," he gravely said in a quiet tone, "You're good at that. Both now and then."

Kisara felt her throat get caught up. She could swear that there was _hurt_ behind his words, but his expression and tone said otherwise. She let out in a raspy breath, "I don't want to."

"Then I'll make you want to," he asserted.

Her face made a series of perplexed motions, feeling both scared and curious.

"The duelist I defeated this Tuesday was your boyfriend - Reo Hamada. I wanted to fire him, but he insisted on a duel. He's a moron. I programmed the duel conditions, and I had strategies with the intent to hurt him under maximum damage. If you think I'm hurt, then you've no idea what he's dealing with right now."

Kisara couldn't even gasp or utter a word. Nothing was making sense.

"You're probably wondering why," he listlessly continued, "It's not that deep. I just enjoy putting down low-lifes like him when they think they can challenge me."

Disgust and anger sparked in her. Her hands started trembling despite being clasped together. She nervously declared, "I-I lied."

He appeared confused, as her statement seemed to be completely different from the current conversation.

She continued, "I _wasn't_ fine. I-I've been anxious all week from not knowing where he was. He wouldn't return any of his calls, and it wasn't like I could visit his home. Now I know…"

"Yes, now you know. _Congrats_."

Kisara's frustrations increased in reaction to Kaiba's cynical comment. She added in spite, "Now I know that you're a _monster_. Like everyone says you are."

His face fell. Despite trying to keep up with his emotionless appearance, he felt sort of damaged by her accusation, even if it wasn't any different from most people's opinions on him. Coming from her, it meant something.

"And you know what?" she surprisingly continued, "His absence wasn't the only reason I wasn't fine. The other reason was _you_. I felt bad. I truly did, when I've been lying to your face all this time about knowing certain things, and I decided to leave you back at the gym. I actually regretted all those times I pretended not to know anything when you questioned me. When Yugi called me last night to talk to you, I was more than happy to have another chance to redeem myself, to finally be open to discussion. Because I...I finally want to know what you mean to me, and why I have certain feelings when I'm near you."

Kaiba couldn't help but think she was confessing something to him, something so akin to his own desires when it came to her. He stopped trying to hide his emotions, and let his face shift to one of shock, visible with his widened eyes and his lips slightly parted with no words coming out.

"But all that anxiety was for nothing now that I know how you operate," she finally said. She was still under him. His left arm was placed under her neck, and his right arm had its hand right next to her head. She took her right hand and gently removed his own from the bed, squeezing herself out. She straightened her shirt wrinkles, picked up her purse, and started walking toward the door.

Before she left, she mentioned, "You can have my sandwich that Yugi's buying. Make up some excuse for my leave."

Kaiba really hated the sound of her leaving. This time, however, he knew he was completely at fault. He remained frozen on the bed, looking only at the cream sheets. So she was finally coming around to discussing things, wasn't she? He wasn't completely innocent of keeping things to himself as well. Frankly, he thought he was more guilty than she was, with the way he treated her.

He wasn't going to stay behind anymore.

* * *

Kisara rushed over to the elevators. The entire top floor seemed to be reserved to only Kaiba and security, so she was grateful no one would question a fuming woman parading out the CEO's office. Her finger stabbed the elevator button, and her current attitude was so rotten that the wait felt excruciatingly long.

She couldn't organize her thoughts and emotions at the moment, so she didn't bother. She'd leave it up to another sleepless night.

Her head must have gone insane because she could hear steps coming from behind her.

"Amano."

On cue with the opening of the elevator doors, Kisara's head jerked forward. Was he seriously following her? Did the guards seriously let their boss leave in a hospital gown? Her heart was thudding hard as she considered whether or not to go inside the elevator. Instead, she chose neither and speed-walked toward the side stairs of the building.

She had gotten down one flight until Kaiba shouted after her.

"You are not seriously walking down this many stairs. You'll go insane."

Kisara shut her eyes for a good couple seconds before quickly turning around to look up. She slightly gasped as she saw he was actually trying to walk down each step - barefoot no less. He looked like he was having a difficult time, as both his hands gripped the handrails, and no transition between each step went unhinged. However, his gaze kept on her, despite his struggle.

"Kaiba, please go back," she instructed with a strain in her voice, "You're doing neither of us a favor."

He ignored her plea. Instead, he said, as he descended uncomfortably, "I've been lying too."

"About what?"

"First of all, I had my reasons for dueling Hamada. It's true I wanted to fire him, and he decided to challenge me."

"Why even fire him in the first place? Why…" Kisara drifted off, not budging as he was halfway down, "Why is it just questions with you?"

"I reserve the right to be able to fire anyone in my company for any reason," he continued, "But I suppose you have the right to know this time."

He reached the bottom, but he didn't stop there. He neared closer to her, until he was about a foot across.

"I despised your choice in men," Kaiba flatly said.

Kisara didn't believe his words. She scanned his entire body with her eyes, knowing full well he wasn't in a healthy state. The way his upper half seemed to droop and the way his knees slightly wobbled made her think his head wasn't any better. She replied, "You're lying. That isn't a real reason to fire someone…and you - you don't get an opinion on who I choose to be with. You'd be extremely trivial if that was your real reasoning."

"I don't want to have an opinion regarding that matter, but I still do…because I harbor the same godforsaken sentiments you hold - the ones you can't reason either. Look, I don't-"

Kaiba blinked hard as if that could help fix his dizziness. He pointed one shaky index finger toward his chest, " - I don't have full control over _this_ …this pathetic _pounding_ and sense of _possession_ whenever I'm near you, that I'm sure is only a result of whatever past tragedy occurred between us. But damn it to hell, it's still a part of me, so I'll be as trifling as I want to be when you stroll around and choose a man so repulsive that he doesn't-"

"Don't," Kisara whimpered, disgusted by not only him, but herself. Her stomach kept flipping as he basically just confessed the same thing she did, about his feelings. She wanted to talk more about that very topic, but she was her scared self again, and she was genuinely disturbed by his comments regarding Reo. All the guilt in her body translated in words, "He's been nothing but kind and sweet to me, and you've been...you know how you've been. I won't tolerate you insulting him."

Kaiba nearly went off again, off on another one of his senseless tangents. The way she defended him got on his nerve, but it was only right for her to do so. Between Kaiba and Reo, the former was only relevant to her due to some past fantasy, and the latter had been beside her all this time.

"Perhaps you have the right to fire him, even without probable cause," Kisara quietly proposed, but her face was far from meek as she stared up toward Kaiba, "No matter how slight your reasoning. However, I find it hard to believe he's done something to warrant the conditions you set that duel to. Firing him is one thing, but hospitalizing him is another. By the way, I'm going to need to know where he is before I go insane."

Kaiba asked, "Do you like him that much?"

She was taken slightly aback by his question. The frustration and sincerity on his face had disappeared for a stone one. She answered, "Of course."

"More than just liking at this point?"

Frustrated, Kisara pointed out, "I don't know what you mean. Are we children or something? Yes...Kaiba...I _like-like_ him."

"You know what I mean."

She would have rolled her eyes if he weren't so serious. She thought over what he meant for a bit and lazily offered, "Do you mean if I love him?"

"Yes."

"Y-" she stopped. It felt like everything inside of her was empty again. She'd been asking herself the same question for a while now, and she would always insist it'd be only correct to say yes. She also figured the feeling would magically grown on her. Masking her doubts, she confirmed, "Yes. I do."

"Tch," he clicked his tongue. He wanted to say she was a bad liar again, but he wasn't sure if it was because he actually recognized a lie, or if it was a lie he wanted to believe in. He cleared his throat and said, "Then I'll ask my men of his whereabouts and contact you later. He can tell you what he's done when he wakes up."

"And you can't tell me?"

"I can but I won't," he firmly declared, "because it's not what he's done to me, but what he's done to you. Believe me, you won't appreciate it coming from another person's mouth other than his."

"God, it's like everything is a mind game with you," she sighed in frustration, "Why does that matter? How does that excuse you? Why would it matter to you in the first place what he's done to me?"

All her questions slashed the last of his patience.

"Because I actually care about you!" Kaiba bitterly proclaimed, as his face flushed into embarrassment and both his hands were clenched into fists. She was about to launch a series of other questions, but she realized what he had just said. Her heart found itself the way it always did when she felt bashful, and this was one of those times.

He too realized what he had just broadcasted. There was so much more he wanted to say, and a trillion other things he needed to clarify, but he couldn't even face her. He felt incredibly vulnerable in the moment, having just exposed a portion of his inner views. It didn't help that he was only clad in a thin hospital gown. God, he probably looked both ridiculous and pitiful.

He turned his heel and made his way to the stairs leading up, back to his office floor and back to to where his pride was. As one foot tried placing itself on the first step, he found himself with no strength to prop the other foot up, and he felt his body shutting down again. With one hand on the rail, he slammed his back against the wall and slunk down. All he could feel was someone trying to shake him before being simultaneously engulfed in arms and darkness.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Dreadfully long, but I realize I had a lot to make up for the lack of Kisara. I'm on break now, so I think I may release shorter chapters more frequently, so don't be too alarmed if you see chapters like half this size later.

Also, I'm trying to restructure some future plans, and by doing so, I've been having to go back and reread former chapters, so that's been great. Thanks for reading!

 **Review Responses:**

 **WBAD:** Oh I love the edginess of Kaiba so much! (partly cause it gives me an excuse to write edgy things) He's so enjoyable to write about when he's being edgy, so are the scenes with him and Yugi. Oh my god, I didn't even think about Hamada possibly encountering Aster Phoenix or Zane Truesdale, so that's so hilarious to imagine. I love them both as well, and truth be told, I had a bigger crush on Zane than Kaiba at first SO I CAN RELATE

I haven't read a lot of fanfics with actual duels in them, so I didn't know a chunk were not in narrative format O_O Mmm, yeah I didn't want to make Kaiba win scot-free, didn't seem too fair, or maybe I liked getting a chance to make him pass out, hehe. Ahh, as always, thank you for your support 3

 **Ai Star:** Both of them will be okay, hehe. For now ^^

 **Anonymous Reader 12:** Ah, yes, I actually wanted to use Chaos Max Dragon, but I would have had to force the other monster into defense position somehow, and that was an extra step already covered by Chaos Dragon's effect, haha!

 **Bleach power:** I really liked imagining the Blue Eyes just look really angry at him, because the dragon is like lowkey Kisara's spirit. Hopefully, she will come to understand Kaiba's choice, but it's definitely not going to be easy! Thank you!

 **itxprincessxlala:** I can't believe I wrote the battle :,) But thank you for appreciating it! I definitely have more to make up for Kisara's points of view for later chapters, so there will be more of a refocus on her :)

 **Fabiola.H.J:** Yes, I agree that I've been focusing on Kaiba too much and less on Kisara's part, which is kind of detrimental because the latter has less canon development. I think that's what you mean by Kaiba staying away from Kisara? That I stress less on his part and more on her? Hopefully, this chapter does more on her part because I wrote it with Kisara in mind :)


	17. Chapter 16: Power

The doctors had said he would be fine. That was enough for Kisara to take leave.

She didn't sleep well that night again, but that was nothing new. Frankly, everything that had happened was exhausting enough for her to fade away, but it wasn't her thoughts or even men that kept her up. Instead, she felt like she was being watched. That same aura from the middle of the street the other day crept upon her, and it wreaked havoc on her sleep to no end.

Kisara emerged from her terror induced nightmares in cold horror. She didn't blast up and scream, but rather remained frozen in her bed. She had her eyes wide open, afraid that if she closed them, she would be subject again to her dreams.

Her phone was ringing. She thought it couldn't possibly be important, so she let it go. However, a second run occurred, causing her to slowly get up and reach for her nightstand, answering without even reading caller ID.

Immediately as she brought the phone to her ears, a familiar voice blasted, "Amano."

She sidled up into a seated position, thinking that surely she was dreaming again.

"Did you just get up or something? Amano," Kaiba repeated irritably.

"I'm here, but shouldn't you be in a hospital bed?" Kisara asked in bewilderment, "I hear the city in the background."

"Newsflash. I woke up early, and Mokuba got here sooner than expected, along with your friend. We're having brunch after we pick them up, so get ready."

Kisara immediately slid off her bed and transitioned in her bathroom, hurriedly saying, "Wait, how much time do I have?"

"I'll be there in 10 minutes."

"No."

"What do you mean _no_?" She could hear his annoyance.

"5 more minutes, please," she begged as she laid her phone on the counter and started stripping.

"The hell. Just throw on a decent pair of clothes and brush your hair, I really couldn't care less."

"I don't care what you think," she argued as she turned her phone on speaker. She started up her shower and stepped into the bath, "I'm going to look nice for a nice restaurant, or I'm not going."

"Oh my god...what is _that_? Are you breaking up?" Kaiba was referring to the sounds of her shower.

"I'm showering," she shouted so she could be heard above the water, "You're not the only one that can multitask, Mr. CEO."

"But I'm apparently the only one who can properly do so efficiently. If you were competent at multitasking, you wouldn't need the extra time."

Despite the micro arguments that ensued between the two, neither one bothered to hang up the phone. They weren't really arguments, however, more along the lines of friendly banter about minor things such as the art of multitasking and which one was better. Kisara had finished her shower in a short span of five minutes and grappled her towel, lunging toward her sink and grabbing her toothbrush.

"For your information, I was able to joijwlw, while iljflwj, and jwieljwe, in the middle of lkjwagla, once," she confidently stated, thinking that she had stated coherent words as she brushed.

"I don't think being comprehensible is one of the things you're able to do. What are you doing now?"

"Bwushing," she answered as she spat the paste and started gurgling her mouthwash.

"You sound like you're dying."

After she spat out her mouthwash, she responded, "I think that about you every time I'm graced with your presence."

"Hysterical."

"What should I wear?" Kisara inquired as she finished drying up and headed toward her closet. She hurriedly threw on underwear but was lost for actual clothes.

"Gucci."

"Are you laughing at my poverty?"

"I'm laughing because you think I care."

"Oh my gosh," Kisara frustratingly groaned as she sifted through her racks of clothes, "Just how nice is this place?"

"Nice."

"Ugh, Kaiba! Tell me a color!"

Kisara was expecting another snippy response. Strangely, she was kind of enjoying them. However, there was a slight pause on the other end. Eventually, he firmly answered, "Yellow."

 _Yellow...yellow...yellow…_ repeated in her head as her hands flew over each piece she had. She found one. As she pulled it out, she realized it was the same dress, the one that was backless, she had worn to Indonesia. He couldn't have remembered, could he? A warm feeling erupted in her chest at the mere chance that he noticed her back then.

"Are you done so I can stop slowing everyone behind me?"

Kisara snapped back and hurriedly said, "Oh! Um...yes? Um, I'm not done but please don't anger anybody."

"I'm not the one who needed more time."

She placed the dress back and opted for another dress she had, a simple cream yellow sundress that reached to her knees. She scurried over to her mirror and took a gander at herself. Her hair looked like an absolute mess, and her face was haggard from lack of sleep and stress.

"You better be looking really nice then, Seto Kaiba. I'll actually cry on the spot if you arrive in that hospital gown. Seeing as since you're in such a rush, you must not have had time yourself," she pointed out as she started tying her hair up in a ponytail. It was so messy that brushing it would take years. She inwardly screamed at herself for having such ghastly dark circles. Set against her pale skin, they were the most obvious feature of her face, at least to her.

"...I did have time."

"What?!" Kisara exclaimed as she snapped the last band on her hair. She picked up her phone close to her ear and listed, "What do you mean you had time and you're here rushing me?"

"I woke up and finally read Mokuba's text. I got ready and on a whim, decided to invite you so Wheeler's sister doesn't feel intimidated. Now hurry up, I'm pulling into your apartment's driveway."

In a panic, she grabbed for her pursed, ran out her bedroom, threw on a pair of wedges, and started skipping steps on her way down from her apartment.

"Oh shit, I forgot to lock the place," she mentioned as she softly laughed from hearing Kaiba's dismayed sigh. After quickly correcting her blunder, she returned to her path.

"I'll honk since you've never seen this car."

Kisara grinned widely as she heard the noise. She kept her head low as some others glanced her way. She waved frantically to an expressionless Kaiba in the driver's seat. Slipping into the passenger's seat, she observed, "Nice car. I like the light blue. It screams "I'm a dork for my Blue Eyes." What happened to the other? Or others? It's like you get a new car every week."

Kaiba rolled his eyes as he finally disconnected their call and pulled away from the building. He responded, "I change my car every so often. Security urged me when I first started driving."

"Sounds expensive…"

"A price I have to pay for a bit of independence," he muttered.

"I thought you were the freest man in the city," Kisara chuckled, "Didn't you send some cards into space years back? Just in case we can teach aliens how to duel?"

Kaiba nearly choked on his own spit when she mentioned that part of his past. He was slightly nerved that she threw that piece of information at his face, and she was giggling too. He got a good chunk of media backlash for his proposed plan back then, but being his young, erratic self, he thought it was genius. He explained, "I...was going through some stuff. That one plan was a side-project that helped take the edge off of other things I was dealing with."

Kisara noticed his tone suddenly got serious, and she figured that she had just hit a sensitive spot she didn't mean to touch. She hesitantly questioned, "What other things?"

Kaiba tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he pondered how he should answer. He asked, "Do you know how Kaiba Corporation became the gaming tech company it is today? You said you read me up."

"Hmm…" Kisara rested her chin on her hand as she leaned against the door, "Kaiba Corporation changed from a military arms dealer to electronics-slash-entertainment company when you came in power, correct? Hostile takeover. 51% shares and all."

Kaiba briefly stated, "It wasn't a clean conversion. I…um-"

Kisara looked over to him, taking note of the way he looked a bit worried. She waited for more of his response.

"As soon as I finished high school, and everyone took me more seriously, they started treating me as an actual adult. Certain things I did to change KaibaCorp suddenly blew up in my face…."

He drifted off into space, and it seemed like he was in a world of his own, having his past suddenly crash down.

"You don't have to tell me," Kisara cheerfully mentioned as she started looking through her purse. As she pulled out what seemed like makeup, she added, "What matters is that you now supply technology for the world's most amazing game. Also, you're a Japanese Walt Disney with Kaibaland everywhere and making everyone of all ages smile!"

Kaiba felt relief wash all over him. He was grateful she understood not to press on, and her words of encouragement actually made him brighten up a bit. However, it made him feel guilty of the way he had intervened in her personal matters. A part of him felt as if he should return more...distinctive details of himself. He could only let out, "Yeah. I guess."

He thought she felt ignored from his curt response, as things got quiet between the two. However, it wasn't until he made a left turn did he notice her peculiar activities. In shock, he asked, "What are you doing?!"

Kisara was curling her eyelashes with her curler, a process that required her to be uncomfortably close to her eyes. She smoothly replied, "Makeup. I had no time at home so now's my chance."

"Stop. You're going to stab your eyes."

"This isn't my first time doing this in a car," she reassured him as she started putting on mascara, looking intently into her tiny mirror.

"You're distracting me," he insisted. He wasn't being dramatic, really. His eyes kept veering from the road as he kept flickering toward her.

"Keep your eyes on the road then."

"I _can't_."

"Hold on, I just need to do my waterline, and then that's all for eyes," she brushed him away.

 _Waterline?_ "AmaNO," Kaiba firmly stated as his left arm shot toward her and swiped whatever product was in her hand. He tossed the darn thing toward his feet before completely stealing her purse away and placing it beneath him.

"...Did you just make a pun based on my last name?" She gaped toward him, more shocked by that than his theft.

Kaiba grimaced as he suddenly realized he let Yugi completely influence him. His corny puns were getting to him.

"Cute," Kisara giggled before seriously saying, "But I want those back."

"No!"

"It's none of your business what I do to myself."

Kaiba finally reached his own airport, validating himself with the gate and finally getting through. Once he sharply pulled into the driveway, he snapped toward her, "You are _fine_ without makeup. In fact, you're so conventionally pretty that you're a freaking _model_ , so I don't see why you need to go the extra mile to look overdone while simultaneously risking blindness. You're fine _as is_ , ok? You're enough. Here's your purse, but no more makeup for now."

Kisara silently nodded her head as he chucked back her purse, exiting his door. His statements, despite trying to be neutral, made her slightly smile.

" _Because I actually care about you!"_

She gulped as she recalled that one declaration from him, from just yesterday. Come to think about it, neither had mentioned their feud from yesterday. All her qualms with him suddenly came back. Her phone call and the conversation in the car felt like a fantasy in comparison to yesterday.

The glass of her car seat window was tapped against. She quickly whirled around, finding herself face-to-face with Kaiba, who had bent down to see what she was up to. Both paused, gleaning into each other's eyes for a good bit, with only thick, bullet-proof glass in between them.

He eventually made the words "get out."

Kisara broke away and opened her door, bolting outside and clearing her throat. She followed him duly. She remembered the last time she was here, all of it boiling down to one of the guards strangling Joey. At her friend's expense, she could only smile.

"KISARA!" Serenity dashed toward her friend and spoiled her in surprise attack hug that caused Kisara to nearly topple over. She felt a hand support her back, but it quickly flew away, and she saw Kaiba's figure leave hers for Mokuba.

"Saw that," Mokuba eyed his brother in suspicion.

"Saw what?" Kaiba avoided his gaze as he sarcastically offered, "My disappointment in you?" He playfully stole Mokuba's aviators and slid them onto his own face.

"Oof," Mokuba pretended to be hurt as he closed one of his eyes and clutched his heart as he whispered, "I felt that."

"Tch. Let's go."

* * *

The car ride on the way to the restaurant was filled with chatter amongst the four. It was conversation at every second, without a hitch in noise. Mokuba and Serenity were relentless as they interchangeably launched their stories of Okinawa.

"That whale shark at the Churaumi Aquarium was almost as big as your ego, Seto!"

"Kisara, you would have loved the gusuku architecture of Shuri Castle!"

"We went. Ocean. Walking. At Nagannu. I wanted to scream "I'm Jesus!" but Serenity said it was too inappropriate."

"Guess who did CPR on a drowning man? This girl!"

Kisara and Kaiba could barely slide in any commentary before at least one of the two started talking again. Kisara smiled to herself, and even chuckled as she noticed this pattern. The driver would increasingly get irritated as he found himself being interrupted many times in light of the couple's excitement. She found that amusing herself, noticing how he started gripping his steering wheel tighter. Leaning her head against the glass window, she dreamily gazed out toward the passing scenery of Domino. As she continued listening to the rambunctious two in the back, she couldn't help but feel joy grow exponentially in her heart for her best friend.

During university, Kisara noticed how absolutely devastated Serenity was from her demanding, extraneous academic curriculum, convoluted family matters, and a broken relationship. She would be there the best that she could, from cooking her meals and making sure she went to bed at a decent time. However, she had her own jobs that took a good portion of her days and nights as well. That was when Mokuba came into the picture. He helped make her friend's days brighter, and Kisara would come home to a girl who could finally smile more often. Yes, she was extremely grateful for Mokuba.

" _I'll let Mokuba have his fun now, but things will be different once he gets back from vacation. It'll save him from wasting time on her."_

Kisara's head perked up, suddenly recalling Kaiba's rather cynical sentiment. She glanced to her side to the driver, whose attention was in full toward the road. A sick feeling erupted in her stomach, wondering just what he was planning.

"Why are we at KaibaLand?" Serenity suddenly asked as she peered out the window, observing how they were transported into the theatrics of the theme park, or at least what appeared to be a secret entrance.

Kisara's head was so occupied that she failed to notice. She too looked out and stated, "I thought we were having lunch."

"We are!" Mokuba cried out in excitement, "At a restaurant in the park. Also, it'll be a day of playing all the games and going on all the rides!"

"Remind me how you're an adult again," Kaiba chimed in, although he had a half-smile on his face.

"Hold on," Kisara looked back toward the two and wink, "Does that mean we get to see our chauffeur get crazy wet in the Water Closet?"

"Hell yeah!" Mokuba exclaimed as he leaned forward and squeezed his brother's shoulders from behind, "And then we're gonna forced him to play DDR in the arcade!"

"What about have the real Seto Kaiba act as Kaibaman for the Kaibaman Show?" Serenity too joked, although she was a bit more careful in tone, as she didn't want to disrespect Kaiba too much.

"Who said I was joining you guys? My job was to transport you here and eat. I don't have time," Kaiba firmly said, "Also that dueling incident with the testing machines took away all my energy."

 _Incident?_ Kisara thought suspiciously. Did Kaiba lie to his own brother? She insisted, "You can't leave me like that."

"The hell you mean? I have no obligation to stay," he snapped back.

"I don't want to be a third wheel if I'm left with them!"

"That's right, Seto," Mokuba mused, "Why abandon her with us when you can join and make this a _DOUBLE DATE_?!"

Kaiba slammed his brakes sharply, causing everyone else to be grateful for the existence of seat belts. He whipped his head back and pushed up the aviators he had stolen from Mokuba, revealing a pair of displeased eyes. He clearly stated, "I will not be participating in the shenanigans. Also, I do not want to bother around in some disguise again so no one notices me. Mokuba, you _are_ aware that security will have to change your appearance. We cannot have people discover any more of your relationship scandals."

Kaiba had said "scandals" with such disdain that Serenity felt a shiver down her spine. Just what did he mean by scandal _ **s**_? She picked at the end of her skirt, trying to understand the implications of his words.

"But…." Mokuba softly lingered, "I want to have more fun together before I leave."

"Please do not pull the America card again."

"Fine," Mokuba huffed as he crossed his arms, "I won't bother you about joining us if you agree to my deal."

"Mokuba…." Kaiba winced as he awaited for another one of his little brother's brilliant schemes.

"First of all, you let me invite my friends over whenever for the rest of the time I'm in Domino," he added, "Including Joey."

Kaiba could've thrown his aviators at the younger one's face if not for the other two in the car. He tightly voiced, "You have another condition?"

"And second," Mokuba stuck out a peace sign, "You take Kisara around somewhere. You are seriously not going to work overtime on a Sunday or spend it alone."

" _What_?"

Kisara quickly waved her hands and shook her head, "Oh no! Mokuba, I'm totally fine with hanging out with you two! I really don't mind. I was just joking about feeling uncomfortable so that Kaiba would join."

"Fine," Kaiba smoothly stated, much to her surprise.

"If you don't agree, I'm gonna-" Mokuba stopped short as his eyes widened, "Wait, whuhh?"

"Fine," Kaiba repeated. He shrugged as he returned to his seat and shut the engine off. He ignored Kisara's confused expression as he declared, "She can watch me type and fetch me coffee."

"Seto! She isn't secretary Wong!"

"Mokuba, I'm really fine with hanging out with you two," Kisara pleaded, hoping to end the argument between the brothers.

"No, you aren't," Kaiba curtly argued, again looking straight forward instead of paying attention to her.

"Excuse me?"

"You told me you used to take your siblings to my parks, correct? You literally confessed to feeling bothered that you had to sit alone while they sat next to each other during some rides."

Serenity softly spoke up and patted her friend on the shoulder as she whispered, "I'll ride with you, Kisara. Mokuba can fend for himself."

"You won't have to," Kaiba strongly asserted, causing Serenity to slightly jump back at his brashness. He explained, "I'll take her to behind-the-scenes stuff. It's about time I make sure everything is working anyways."

"Oh, ok," Serenity quietly voiced as she leaned back, "That's very nice of you to do."

Kisara furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed Serenity's dimmer mood. She chose to ignore it for now, knowing full well she would have a whole discussion reserved for later. She grinned and graciously said, "That's perfect. Thank you."

"Whoa, Seto knows how to please a woman?" Mokuba looked into the mirror view, knowing that his brother was making a snide face through there. He smiled and suggestively raised his eyebrows up and down, to which Kaiba _did_ see and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

* * *

Lunch took place in a relatively secluded area of the park, in a building far above and wide. Kaiba explained that it was one of many private quarters in the park built for just the Kaiba brothers or esteemed guests. They were in a dining area fit for a teppanyaki styled experience, and sure enough, the chef was already prepping their meal the moment they sat down. Meals he prepped consisted of wagyu beef and fresh seafood. The four sat in a linear style, in order from Kisara, Serenity, Mokuba, and Kaiba.

Conversation was relatively smooth between most ofthe diners. Mokuba was the most versatile when it came to conversation, being friendly with everybody else. He was the speaker of the afternoon, making sure that each person spoke once to him.

However, Kisara noticed awkward dialogue was in between her best friend and Kaiba. Serenity seemed to try her hardest to connect with him by referring to things she believed relevant to his interests.

Serenity hesitantly addressed Kaiba, "How are matters at KaibaCorp? I heard that a lot of Japanese companies were doing worse toward the end of the latest fiscal year."

"Hmph. Better than Toshiba," Kaiba shortly responded as he bit into his food. He didn't seem to want to bother to explain what he meant, as he refused to meet her eyes and kept them glued to his plate.

Serenity wanted to ask what he was referring to, but she found herself dejected. She couldn't for the life of her understand business, as her studies were largely focused on the sciences. For the past while, she had asked him pretty general questions, all of which were answered curtly.

" _What do you do in your spare time? When you don't babysit Mokuba, of course, haha."_

" _Work."_

" _Mokuba told me you used to play soccer a lot as a kid. Are you by any chance invested in any sports or maybe like to watch any? My brother and I always tune in for the World Cup and watch some baseball."_

" _Never played since, and I don't find watching sports stimulating."_

" _I was part of chess club during high school. We got to regionals."_

" _Nice. I won nationals on my own."_

Serenity cringed as she kept recalling all the awkward tidbits. Mokuba had tried helping by adding a line or two, but it always ended up with them pursuing their own conversation when she wanted to talk more with Kaiba. She inwardly screamed, fearing that she would never get along with the older Kaiba. It seemed like a natural Wheeler thing.

"What Kaiba means is-" Kisara suddenly spoke up, attracting the attention of all three. Kaiba in particular squinted at her. She nervously explained, "You see, Toshiba has been inaccurate in their accounting for years now, and it wasn't until July of this year that an independent committee finally valued errors in profit estimation; I can't recall the number, but something in billions of yen. Apparently it was terrible enough for the CEO to resign, and their stock has lowered by, I believe 20%, since April. Unfortunately it's predicted to continue like that. So, um, basically Kaiba is saying that KaibaCorp's accounting sector thankfully didn't royally fuck up last fiscal year, unlike Toshiba."

Kaiba stayed silent as Serenity and Mokuba started snorting and eventually laughed at their friend's business talk. The awkwardness that Kaiba had instilled was completely washed away.

"Oh, Kisara," Serenity wheezed as she wiped away a tear, "I forgot how much you enjoy reading business news."

"Yah, I've never seen this side of you," Mokuba cheerfully claimed, "I've been Vice-President for a while now, and even I don't enjoy reading up on how other companies are doing."

"What?" Kisara incredulously asked as she crossed her arms, "It's interesting! Sometimes you just get tired of reading celebrity gossip!"

Kaiba had been prodding at his food for a while now, wondering how the hell this woman understood what he was referring to. Granted, it seemed like she knew very general knowledge. He challenged, "So why is it significant to Japan's image that Toshiba in particular 'royally fucked up'?"

"I have very elementary understanding of how businesses work," Kisara confessed as her face started getting red, "Please don't expect me to-"

"But I do," Kaiba interrupted her, to which Kisara bit her lip, "I expect that you can answer me that simple question if you enjoy reading the latest business news."

Mokuba and Serenity observed the tension in the air as the two people at opposite ends were suddenly involved in a conversation of their own.

"Well I…." Kisara paused to think, "Don't think that's very simple in nature, is it? Because it isn't really Toshiba, specifically, but what it and companies like it represent for Japan. I mean, as impactful as KaibaCorp is, Toshiba, Sharp, and Olympus were pioneering lords of not only Japan, but the international electronics industry. So, their recent struggles and failures are frankly depressing in the sense of "how the mighty have fallen." Really, it gets you thinking of how we can catch up with China and South Korea's growing markets if the classic companies are falling. Um...of course, Japan's not completely at a loss just from those. Despite these companies missing out on trends like the smartphone, KaibaCorp nailed holographic technology with the duel disk, and for as long as card games are popular, we won't be losing out on much."

"Good," Kaiba commended as he finally picked up another bite, "For a novice."

"Nerd," Mokuba and Serenity simultaneously whispered in a loud manner toward Kisara.

She accused, "Says the doctor and the engineer!"

Kaiba shook his head as the other three ensue into an argument of whoever was the biggest nerd. He never really thought the white haired woman would have the slightest clue about the business world. He suspected it was all purely from just being well-informed by reading the news, and not necessarily from a real business education or background. Still, it was a pleasant surprise. It seemed like there were more things to discover of her, which was both frustrating and surprisingly exciting to think about.

The four finished lunch and separated in half as predicted. Mokuba and Serenity would enjoy an extension of their vacation by having a spectacular day at the park.

Kaiba and Kisara were left awkwardly to explore the skeletons of the attractions. Before he could really show her around, she had one pressing question to uphold.

"Kaiba, about Serenity-"

"So how did you really first become intrigued in business matters and however the economy is doing?" Kaiba cut her off before she could ask.

For some reason, she felt it was intentional. Still, she answered, "I just did. Anyways-"

"I don't believe you."

Kisara huffed and brushed away a tendril of her hair that escaped from her ponytail. She briefly explained, "It was relevant to a previous job I had. As I was saying-"

"What job?"

"I don't want to answer that!" Kisara angrily snapped as she stopped following him. Kaiba walked for a couple of feet before pausing and looking back at her. She looked furious. Her hand gripped the strap of her purse white visibly, and her. Eventually, she calmed down and said, "Look. I'm not going to bother with your questions until you actually acknowledge my words."

He walked back, each step unbothered as he stopped a foot in front of her. They were the only two in some hallway, and the dead silence surrounding them relied only on them for noise. He regretfully agreed, "Fine."

"Serenity has been trying her hardest to get to know you. She really does want to get along with you because she knows how important you are to Mokuba. You've been really rude to her efforts," she pointed out without a hitch.

"I answered everything she asked."

" _Minimally_ , and may I add, _passive aggressively_. You know that she's trying to make conversation, but you put no effort in them. It wouldn't hurt to say something less obscure than 'better than Toshiba.' You didn't even start conversation with her yourself!"

"You know my thoughts regarding Wheeler's sister and Mokuba," Kaiba scowled, "Have you forgotten? Mind you, my plans have not changed."

" _I'll let Mokuba have his fun now, but things will be different once he gets back from vacation. It'll save him from wasting time on her."_

Kisara lowered her eyes in disappointment as she remembered his words again. She shouldn't have expected anything more, really. She sighed and concluded, "First of all, her name is Serenity, _not_ Wheeler's sister. If that's how you've regarded her all this time, then you've never even bothered to try and learn about her when she's been doing so all this time. If you want to involve yourself so unnecessarily into your own brother's affairs, fine. However, don't you dare define Serenity by her brother."

"Then what is the point of this conversation?" Kaiba glowered, "You acknowledge this is my business, so stick your nose away."

"The point is...I don't think even Mokuba would like being regarded as 'Kaiba's brother'."

"Excuse me?"

"As much as he adores you, he's his own person. I think he's had his fair share of being under your shadow, and that's something little siblings despise. Otherwise, why is he leaving for America when Domino University's engineering college is on par with MIT's?"

Kaiba's eyes widened. He was frankly dumbfounded she had unraveled part of Mokuba's reasonings for leaving. He was quiet as she continued, "And you know what? Despite hating you equally and being overly protective of his sister, Joey has never looked at Mokuba as being attached to you. Even when Mokuba is dating his sister, he still respects him for who he is and tries to see him as a person separate of his last name. You're thinking for yourself instead of for your brother as you claim."

"Amano," he quietly said, "You are really something today."

Kisara blinked at his simple statement. Was that a compliment or an insult? It could go either way when it came from him. She found herself looking away, as he suddenly shed a half-smile that sent her stomach whirling.

"You really do belong with the dweebs," he chuckled and started walking away, "Come on. You're in for a treat."

* * *

Kaiba had spent the majority of the day explaining all the schematics of practically every attraction on KaibaLand, and Kisara was more than thrilled to dive in with her nose. He showed her the most rudimentary sketches for each design, and she was in absolute bliss.

"I remember my father would show me these sketches...I was always so fascinated by how the architect came up with every single line and component of the rides," she mentioned.

While people would actually ride the attractions, Kaiba and Kisara found themselves in the background, heading all their screams and delighted hollers. Of course, the two of them had their own fun with Kaiba explaining his visions and reasonings behind each attraction, and Kisara never fell behind in paying attention.

"Agh! I remember when I actually saw the Blue Eyes Burst Stream coaster first get built! My dad said it was a bitch because the weather wasn't good during construction though," she provided among other, numerous statements riddled by nostalgic admiration.

It made him wonder, why her eyes were so much brighter now. She never looked away from the present, with only her eyes on him or any contraption and machine he showcased as they transitioned from attraction to attraction. And her ears, oh how they intently hung onto every word of his. It was genuine. That spark.

They got around to a facility that Kaiba explained housed a relatively new spectacle. If was an empty auditorium, and they were in what appeared to be a control center. While he was typing some configurations, she carefully commented, "I like seeing you like this."

Kaiba paused. He turned toward her with a blank expression, enough for her to further explain, "I, um, I've never seen you so invested before...your dedication and reasons for Kaiba Land parks are amazing, and I can tell you enjoy them. You really are a huge nerd."

"I wouldn't have switched KaibaCorp to an entertainment company if I didn't have a passion for it. Quite obvious," he brushed her aside as he continued figuring controls.

"No...I mean that," Kisara waited a bit to recollect her words, "The first time I met you, at your office, you had this aura that you could've killed anyone within a meter."

"Considering that when we first met, you were completely uninvited...I think I had a good reason to be furious."

"Well that's not false," Kisara nervously agreed before arguing, "But I got the feeling that the businessman front you have isn't something you like. I mean, I know it isn't an easy job. I just wonder how much time you actually get in personally researching and developing new technology without corporate matters getting in the way. Because, um...like I said, I barely saw past the CEO cover...and seeing you go on and on about your real visions now is refreshing."

More and more, he realized the depth of her insight and her seemingly acute recognition of behavior. His overall facial expressions softened, visibly hinting that he was slightly pleased with her statements. He did notice her blatant nervousness, as if she was treading on land mines when it came to analyzing his character. He slowly explicated, "I used to have more time. These parks are just repetitive derivatives of my original dreams. I'm really nothing right now creatively after certain corporate issues."

"I guess selling your dreams matter more in the short run."

"Yeah," he shortly answered, "Circumstances."

"A shame."

"Says you," he curtly accused. He finished doing whatever he had to in order to prep the display he wanted to show her. He turned to her confused face and said, "You briefly mentioned your interest in buildings and rides and practically anything that can be constructed, but I barely saw the significance of that past some pretty face. Until now."

"You think I'm pretty?" she suggestively raised an eyebrow and smirked, thinking that she got him on one end.

He scoffed as he walked toward the entrance to the main auditorium and looked backed, "There's no point to being pretty if you hide everything that makes you worthwhile. I guess selling that pretty face matters more in the short run rather than actually following what you like, hm?"

"Yeah," she repeated, "Circumstances."

"Come."

He waved her over to exit the control room, and she felt as if a billion fireworks exploded in her chest as she followed him. Did she just connect to Seto Kaiba on some level? That sounded like a brilliant fantasy of unlikely proportions considering how so different they were.

It was a large, empty facility at first that they stepped into. No one else seemed to be there. It was an off day for the team that worked on it. The sheer size and the void feeling was so strange to her. There were no windows either, so she was left to the silence and darkness and Kaiba.

"Are you going to murder me here?" she joked as if to cover her apprehension.

"Tch," Kaiba rolled his eyes as he retorted, "I think I've told you if I wanted you dead, it would have happened already. Just wait. It's still under progress, so launch time is slow."

And so Kisara waited. She waited until she could sense tectonic vibrations underneath her feet, and the visual world around suddenly shifted. She stared in awe from every angle as a whole new sky seemed to be painted across and a new terrain seemed to unfold below. The temperature was cooler as gentle winds breathed onto her face and allowed her dress to flutter. Not only did the steel floor transition to red rock, but the altitude changed too. In shock, she took a step back and found herself nearly falling off the edge of a holographic cliff if Kaiba hadn't swooped in from the back with an outstretched arm. In one panicked motion, he had cinched her waist and pulled her in directly, embracing her from collapsing. He didn't even realize how tightly he held onto her, as if she would have dissipated right then and there.

Kisara's eyes shut as she felt herself melt in his arms, resting her head guiltily on his chest. For what was only a mere couple of seconds in real time, it felt like an eternity for her. His unfaltering warmth radiated into her body and coaxed her to stay a little longer. However, she knew in her head this wasn't right.

Her hands served as repellers as she pressed them against the same chest she found comfort in and removed herself slightly. It seemed like neither of his arms let go of her waist and head. She was stuck as her face lifted toward his. Her eyes met his, but they instinctively lowered, past that nose that apparently young men all over Asia aspired to have their plastic surgeons mimic, and landed onto his perfectly stagnant lips.

And then, something separated the two people. Something that roared and nipped at her feet. Two things.

The duo broke away as what appeared to be two baby Blue Eyes White Dragons begged for attention as they clamored to each person. The previous tension too fell as Kisara laughed and lowered herself to inspect the creature. She couldn't believe that when her hand touched the surface of its scales, she could actually feel every ridge of its hide.

"Is this really all Solid Vision?" Kisara loudly wondered as she cupped the face of the Blue Eyes. It appeared to like her, as it suddenly opened its mouth and attacked her face with its moist tongue. "Ack!" she shrieked and fell on her butt, but she was still smiling. The creature dominated her and continued showering her with affection as it slowly transition to cuddling its head against her neck. Its wings lowered and fell limply. She slowly sat up as she cradled the Blue Eyes in her arms. That was surreal too, being able to actually hold something so mythical.

Kaiba wasn't any better trying to fend off his Blue Eyes, who whined and screamed when he eventually extracted it away from himself, holding it up and far from him. He replied, "Yes, although I think the team programmed these to be far too clingy." He turned towards her and nearly let an actual laugh escape his mouth. Instead, he let a smile appear.

Kisara got a better gander at her surroundings. They appeared to be in the middle of a barren desert, but it wasn't hot. It was nighttime, and the stars overhead were mesmerizing. There were so many, and as fake as they were, made the virtual world dreamy. The two were on the edge of a cliff. Behind them was a cave, where she assumed the dragons spawned from. She looked to her side to see Kaiba actually smile.

"Is something wrong?"

He set down his Blue Eyes, who was stubborn enough to continue biting at his pants. Kaiba pulled out his phone and snapped a photo of her.

Kisara pulled out her own to see that he sent her the photo. She looked awful. Her hair had escaped her hair tie and was a huge mess all around, and the slobber from all the licking was visible too. Not to mention, her makeup was a complete mess. Mortified, she set her phone down and looked away. She muttered, "Oh, _I_ look wrong." Damn how realistic the saliva of the Blue Eyes sleeping in her arms was.

Kaiba proceeded to take a seat next to her, dangling his legs off the edge. He let the Blue Eyes settle its head on his lap. He said, "You look better."

"Haha," Kisara retorted as she gently removed her arms from her Blue Eyes, letting it settle on her lap and chest. She reached for her purse and pulled out some makeup wipes and a handheld mirror. As she furiously scrubbed everything away, she asked, "So what exactly is all this?"

"Nothing special," he shrugged, "Too many children tried interacting with pre-programmed holographics around the park. Don't even get me started what's happened to the animatronics. I just wanted to make monsters from the game actually interactive, but not physically real so there's no damages. A couple others and I also liked the idea of implementing biomes according to each type of monster."

"So like a petting zoo?"

"...No," he slowly denied.

"It's a petting zoo, isn't it?"

"Do not diminish my idea to such a rudimentary concept."

Kisara finished wiping the last of her makeup and laughed at his defenses. She put her stuff back in her purse and started petting the dragon in her lap. She mentioned, "Blue Eyes White Dragons in a desert environment, hm. What was your reasoning?"

"I think you know the answer to that."

Kisara lifted her head to observe him. He was focused on petting his own Blue Eyes, who seemed to be pleased by the way it flapped its wings and released soft roars. This was it - an opportunity to finally discuss everything both had avoided. She returned to looking at her own dragon, as if it could help her muster the courage to speak up.

How long had she seen this dragon in her dreams? Even before Seto Kaiba plastered anything resembling the creature at every corner of Domino City that he could get, she had always seen the dragon. Even before Maximillion Pegasus first released the design, it was there. Kisara's head started to ache, and she felt herself starting to dissociate again from reality.

Was it fear beating at her? No...it was something stronger. It was hate. She shut her eyes, as if that could cancel the pain she suddenly felt inflicting on her body. It felt like she was being pestered by stone and pebble.

"Amano!"

Her eyes fluttered open, meeting concerned dark blue eyes belonging to someone gently shaking her. She felt the two Blue Eyes nudge her at her sides.

"I-It's c-cold," her teeth chattered as she looked straight down, refusing to look at him directly. Before she knew it, he had let go of his suit jacket to whirl it off and encase her in it. The silk linen was comfort for her shaking body.

Kaiba clutched the lapels of his suit jacket as he crouched. He gently tugged them upwards as he instructed, "Let's go."

* * *

Kaiba had decided it was best to return to his car, which was situated in a private lot. The entire walk back, he had one arm around her, as she seemed to traverse like a zombie, looking downwards and refusing to look around. Thankfully, where they were, there were only employees they came across. Unfortunately, however, it was enough to generate whispers and side-eyes. He'd be sure to say something later.

He huffed as soon as he settled into the driver's seat. She was in the passenger's, still looking away.

Eventually, she spoke up, "I'm sorry. I-I realize that was an opportunity for me to talk about some things, but I just...oh I don't know what happened."

"I'm not going to force it out of you."

"It's just," Kisara scoffed at her own incompetence. She sighed and ranted, "I don't understand your obsession with that thing. That...that ugly lizard. I know it means something to you...but _I_ can't help but feel contempt every time I see it."

Kaiba couldn't have been more puzzled than he was at the moment, hearing her talk like that. He wasn't sure if she was even serious until he looked over and saw part of her face was melded angrily. Her eyebrows were scrunched up, and tears were running down her face.

"And I realize that I might be irrational for hating it so much," she sputtered as she buried her face in her hands, "But so is your fixation."

He was quiet for a bit. How the hell was he supposed to respond? This woman, the one that was supposed to be some reincarnation of a maiden with the soul of that very dragon, abhorred the winged creature he had always revered. He clutched his chest, as if to feel a necklace he used to wear all those years ago, with a locket of a child's drawing of the Blue Eyes.

"Power," he truthfully answered, "It's the strongest normal monster in the game."

"You sought the cards for power. That's it?"

Kaiba shook his head and turned on the inner light of his car. He further accounted, "That was my first reason, yes. The obvious one. When I was younger, that meant everything to me. What's wrong with power?"

"Power is frightening. It scares people away," she barely whispered. She used her hands to brush her way her unwanted tears.

"Only to those who don't understand and aren't willing to understand enough to fully embrace it," he respectfully quarreled.

"I think that dragon is ugly. You're crazy for liking something so hideous."

"It's beautiful," he insisted, "A powerful engine of destruction. Virtually invincible. Few have faced this awesome creature and lived to tell the tale. How is that not attractive? If I'm insane, then everyone else is just stupid."

Kisara bit her lip as she chuckled after recognizing that he had memorized the card description of the darn monster. A small smile emerged on her face. She pointed out, "I thought you said beauty didn't matter."

"I said it's futile if nothing compliments it, and this," he paused. She was still wrapped in his suit jacket, so he had to reach out in order to pull out a card from one of the pockets. He fished out his original three Blue Eyes cards. He made sure they were fanned out right in front of her face, " _This_ has both beauty _and_ power. It's a shame someone long ago thought she wasn't worthy of either, and it's even worse that attitude carried on. Now she...now she wears makeup as if it's her second skin, and now she doesn't want to embrace her real strengths in favor of following what the world dictates her to be."

Kisara tore her eyes from the cards and finally looked toward him. She didn't realize how close he was until she felt his breath brush against her own face. Old feelings and new ones fought within her. He valued her. He knew she still wasn't comfortable in her own skin, even if people this time approved of her appearance. He knew she was pulling through with a career she hated and barely used any real interest she had to offer.

" _Because I actually care about you!"_

"Kaiba...did you really mean what you told me yesterday?"

He didn't falter, "I won't revoke it."

Kisara nodded her head, realizing her eyes drifted to his lips again. She pulled away. It was uncomfortably hot. If she wasn't tied down to someone else, she might have done something she'd regret. She took the cards from his hand and tucked them securely into the pockets of his suit jacket.

"Thanks for everything. Again."

"No problem."

Kaiba leaned back in his seat. Silence was shared, but it was not uncomfortable. It was rare, really, to feel so fine being silent alone with someone, but it was a phenomena he wouldn't trade with anybody else. They waited for Mokuba and Serenity to come back.

Discussing yesterday's events could wait too, he thought. He didn't want to ruin the peace with talk about her bastard of a boyfriend and wherever the hell he was. God, everything was so blissful without him in the formula. It made him wonder how much less would be held back if that other man wasn't involved. Thankfully, she hadn't brought him up at all today.

"About Reo…." she suddenly trailed.

 _Fuck._

* * *

 **Review Responses**

 **itsxprincessxlala:** Ah, thanks for liking the previous chapter so much 3 I'm glad Kisara is back too because there's so much work I need to do for her character. I hope she and Kaiba make it through as well. I feel like I'm placing a lot of emotional struggles between them, but I just can't simplify things because neither of them are supposed to be simplistic. Thanks for the support!

 **Chaotic Skunk Demon:** Not in this chapter ;) Maybe the next.

 **Bleach power:** Haha, I love Yugi in the last chapter too. I think I place him too much so far, but god I really love him. He's me screaming at Kaiba and Kisara to finally be together. Thank you for your reviews, as usual :)

 **CryMeOut:** Welcome aboard! Haha, I understand how you feel. I'm actually one *those* readers myself. Thank you for appreciating my character portrayals. I have a blast with writing Yugi. Ohoho, I actually am not like a diehard Mokuba/Serenity person. I definitely wrote them together just to bring a dynamic between Kaiba and Joey, but I'm unironically liking them now, hehe. Thanks for reading!


	18. Chapter 17: Disclosure

"FUH-"

Before Kaiba could reluctantly listen to what Kisara was about to say, a loud snapping noise came from outside. Muffled cursing could be heard as well. He looked out the window and saw his little brother in the rear view, aggressively pointing toward the locked door. It appeared that Mokuba had tried a little too hard to pry the door open.

Kaiba rolled down his window and mocked, "No animals in the car."

"These animals brought you dinner, fool," Mokuba retorted playfully and raised bags of fast food in one hand triumphantly.

"Tch," Kaiba shook his head and unlocked the doors.

"Dinner?!" Kisara exclaimed as she watched the couple enter into the back seat. They were, funnily enough, walking advertisements for Kaiba Land. Serenity had on an array of KaibaLand merchandise, from a tacky winged hat down to her Blue Eyes graphic tee, not to mention the plethora of Blue Eyes stuffed animals in her arms.

"You two are the type of older siblings that forget to take care of themselves," Serenity pointed out with a grin, "So we figured you guys most likely geeked out so much that you forgot dinner."

"It's time for the younger siblings to care for a change," Mokuba declared with a wink as he passed the bags of food around.

"Seems like you always do that, Mokuba," Kaiba said as he looked through his bag. It consisted of a bunch of street foods, from takoyaki to yakisoba. He mentioned, "I'll eat these after I drive."

"We could…" Serenity softly spoke up when offering, "Eat all of this at my place. You two are welcome to stay for a while."

"OH YEAH!" Mokuba enthusiastically shouted aloud with fist bumps to the air, "Seto, c'mon! The night is young!"

Kaiba started the engine, uncomfortable about the potential situation. Before he could decline, Kisara spoke up, "Hold on, Serenity. I'm a tenant of the apartment too, and I don't want someone like Kaiba in my home."

"And what do you mean by someone like me?" Kaiba raised his eyebrow and started driving out the park.

"Someone lame who wouldn't contribute to the conversation. Only fun people are allowed in my home," Kisara insisted.

"Well it's a good thing I'm fun."

Mokuba snorted in the back, nearly choking on a taiyaki he was sneaking. He cleared his throat and ignored his brother's death glare from the mirror view. Serenity stifled one herself as she placed a hand over her mouth.

"Funny, but not fun," Kisara smirked.

"That's not what you told me today," Kaiba mocked in her voice, "Oh! Kaiba! Can you _please_ show me more of sketches? What about the design layout? And your inspiration? I'm having _sooooooo much fuuuuuuun_! I don't think I've ever had this much _fun_ at a Kaiba Land! So. Much. _Fun_!"

Kisara's face got red as she heard him imitate her in the most sarcastic voice of his to date. She sputtered, "I-I do not sound like that! So are you coming or not?"

"I actually do have a lot of work I need to do, but I'll stay for Mokuba."

"Alright," Mokuba cheerfully clapped his hands, "Everything's settled!"

* * *

Kisara's chopsticks fell flat on the table as she bolted up from the sound of her phone alerting. Without a word, she bolted straight to her room.

Kaiba momentarily paused his furious typing to glare at her leave from above his laptop. All four had settled at the small, round dining table of the apartment kitchen for about 30 minutes with their bags of food scattered everywhere. The apartment was quaint and relatively cozy. It was on the smaller end, with an open kitchen connected to the living room and two single bedrooms with a bathroom attached to each.

"What's gotten into her?" Mokuba too peered over as he stuffed his mouth with yakisoba.

"Work probably," Serenity frowned, "Although she mentioned she was supposed to be off tonight. I guess she's covering for someone."

"It's late," Kaiba mentioned noticed the time on his screen as he went back to working, around nine.

Serenity shrugged as she whacked Mokuba's chopstick with her own as he tried to steal some of her yakisoba. She stated, "It's nothing new. Even when she says she won't work, she'll bend over backwards if she's needed. No matter what the time is."

"Aw, I wanted to play a game or something with just the four of us," Mokuba whined, "We just got here."

At that second, Kisara breezed through the main area in her work uniform and tucked a cap right on her head as she shouted, "Sorry! Hope you guys have fun!"

"Good luck!" Serenity shouted. She cupped her hands and placed them over her mouth while yelling, "Stay safe! Don't forget your bus card!"

"Bye Kisara! I'll invite you over for actual fun later!" Mokuba joined in on the announcements.

"Thanks guys! See you later!" Kisara shouted back as she slammed the door shut.

" _Bus_?" Kaiba questioned aloud incredulously as he shut his laptop and started shoving it into his bag. He stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Seto, what the hell?" Mokuba reaches over and grabbed his brother's elbow, "Where are you going?"

"Call a taxi later," Kaiba briefly demanded as he pulled himself away and briskly walked out the front door. At the shutting noise, Mokuba's jaw unhinged as he too abruptly stood up, and both his hands were on his hips.

"Why is everyone leaving?!"

Serenity stopped chewing and placed a hand over mouth. She mentioned, "He can't...he can't be driving Kisara to work, can he? He's taking the car so you have to take a taxi later?"

"That...that…" Mokuba flew back into his chair and crossed his arms, "No way. I mean, he can come back after he drops her off."

"Maybe he'll stay there for her?"

Mokuba slowly turned his head to stare dead into his girlfriend's unfazed expression. Both of them were in a staring deadlock for a good half-minute before bursting into laughter.

"Good one," Mokuba sputtered out, "He's probably going to go back home."

"Yeah…" Serenity lingered as she stabbed her takoyaki, "We _are_ an insufferable couple."

"The worst."

The two went back to their staring contest. After a good minute, the two bolted out of their chairs and into Serenity's bedroom.

* * *

"Get in my car," Kaiba called from behind Kisara as he caught up to her.

Confused, she turned around and stopped in her tracks. She argued, "Oh no, I'm good! I always do this. It's fine!"

Before she could leave, he quickly explained, "I do not like the idea of being a third wheel as well, and I can't concentrate on work when those two chatter about the most nonsensical of matters. I'm going home so you might as well come with me."

Kisara reluctantly agreed with a nod and followed him to his car. Once he started driving, she mentioned, "Oh, I completely forgot! I...I want to know where Reo is. You promised me you'd tell."

Kaiba wanted to explode into one fat, dejected sigh and reject her request completely. Instead, he flatly replied, "I can't remember from the top of my head. I'll text you later tonight."

"Ok," she said, "Good."

"Good." _No, actually, not good. Fucking hell,_ he sourly thought to himself. His face was evidently disturbed and completely matched up to his inner conflict. He didn't want her to know, but she deserved the truth.

"Um…" Kisara drifted as she realized he was nearing the café, "It's mutual."

"What?" He asked as he parked the car.

"What you said. Yesterday," she softly said as she pulled her work cap low and started to unhook her seatbelt.

"Oh."

Was it guilt that exploded in him at that moment? Did she just blindly accept his sentiment when he didn't even tell her the real reasoning with the duel? God. Was she so willing to believe in him that she figured him saying he cared for her would excuse any of his motivations? And she even...even felt the same way back through and through?

He didn't think he was right for being silent all this time when he claimed to care for her. He was being stupid.

"I'm leaving. Thanks for-"

"Wait!" He sharply announced as he grabbed her shoulder. Those eyes of her fluttered toward him in confusion. This wasn't the right timing. Kaiba cleared his throat and asked, "What time do you get off?"

"Around five or six in the morning…." Kisara worriedly added, "Sora always drives me back, though, if that's what you're offering."

Her coworker _always_ did? At the hour she left? To her home? Kaiba quickly explained, "I plan to stay up all night to catch up on work. I might as well stay and order that coffee you make. I'm not opposed to taking you home as well."

Kisara figured it wasn't worth the argument that he didn't have to stay. She weakly smiled and said, "Alright. I owe you a lot, don't I?"

He simply grunted and retrieved a cap from the passenger compartment. His hand brushed back his hair, gaining an awkward stare from Kisara. As he pulled the cap onto his head, he questioned, "What?"

"Nothing...I've just never seen you without your bangs."

Kaiba slightly nodded, not knowing how the hell to respond to that. He took a pair of aviators as well and slid them onto his face.

"It's nice," she quietly and awkwardly added, "Your forehead."

"...Thanks."

She cracked a laugh and exited the car, and he followed behind. Once they got to the main entrance, he opened the door for her. He followed her half-way to the back before tugging on her sleeve and placing a wad of yen in her hand. He said, "For the coffee."

"Oh, um, it's on me," she insisted as she tried shoving the money back, "For everything today."

"This is literally nothing to me."

"Then you should have no problem taking it back."

"I do have a problem."

"So do I."

The two had their hands in a deadlock, fighting over who should keep the money.

"Kisara, are you okay?" A young woman who was dressed in the same uniform walked over and whispered into Kisara's ear. She smiled toward Kaiba, not recognizing who he was but admiring his seemingly handsome appearance.

"I am trying to pay for her services," Kaiba stated.

"Services?" The woman blankly stared at their hands, unsure what he meant. She shook her head and quickly said, "Oh no, sorry sir. I know this girl is beautiful, but she is not the type to-"

"Hina!" Kisara called out, realizing what her coworker was implying, "I know him. He's just trying to pay for a coffee that I insist is on me."

"Like I would actually pay for time with this woman," Kaiba snidely declared, although it was a joke at best.

"Hey," Kisara argued, "I can be very charming if I want to be! You're missing out." She winked toward him, which made him both cringe and feel slightly funny.

Kaiba finally took back his money. Kisara's made a triumphant look but it quickly fell when he grabbed Hina's hand and slapped the cash into it. He flatly said, "Fine. It'll be tip for _you_."

Kisara noticed her coworker shyly giggle and nervously brush back her blonde hair as she batted her eyelashes toward Kaiba and thanked him. Kisara didn't realize she was stuttering as she said, "Um...i-it'll take like five minutes. C'mon, Hina." She grabbed her friend's wrist and dragged her to the kitchen, to which Hina waved back to Kaiba.

As Kisara went straight to making Kaiba's coffee, Hina rolled over to her side and smugly commented, "So your boyfriend's very cute."

" _What?"_ Kisara scoffed, "Oh no. No, no, no. He is _not_ my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Another girl overheard their conversation as she sidled up to Kisara and Hina. Donning the same cap and apron, Akari excitedly asked, "Is he here?"

Hina happily answered, "He's waiting for his coffee outside. He's wearing a cap and glasses but he's so tall and fit, and you can just tell he's handsome. Like, that nose is so perfect, and those lips-"

"Are not that special," Kisara annoyedly interrupted as she finished making the coffee. She furiously doodled two baby Blue Eyes White Dragons on the exterior before storming out the kitchen and sliding the cup toward Kaiba, who caught it with one brow raised. He noticed three other girls followed suit, ogling at him as if he were the first male they ever laid eyes on.

"I'll be on the rooftop..." Kaiba slowly mentioned as he took his coffee and quickly headed upstairs. He could strangely feel the glare of the other girls boring onto his back when leaving.

"C'mon, Kisara," Hina chirped, "You guys argue like a couple, and I _saw_ you get slightly jealous when he gave me the money."

" _And_ he knows you like going to the rooftop when your shift ends," Akari added with a small smirk.

Kisara silently returned to the kitchen as the other girls plagued her with questions and theories as to who the man was. She continuously denied any label but "friend." As the night got busier and busier, with the nightlife of Domino relentless in their cravings of coffee, teas, and desserts, most smalltalk was tossed aside in favor for efficiently carrying out orders.

At the end of her shift, she rubbed her eyes and tossed a wet towel over some dirty kitchen counters. Wiping every mess away, she thought of how tedious her whole coffee shop job was, and how little brain power it took.

"Riding with me this morning?"

Kisara raised her head to see Sora question her. She shook her head and replied, "Not this morning."

"Oh? Why?"

"Boyfriend!" Hina and Akari simultaneously and jokingly answered, much to Kisara's dismay.

Kisara playfully tossed her dirty towel towards the two and said, "I'm telling you, he's not my boyfriend!"

Sora chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck as he teasingly remarked, "Lucky man."

"Not _my_ man," Kisara corrected.

"Yah," Hina picked up the towel and loudly asked, "What guy stays at a café for like hours just waiting to pick up a girl? During this time of day?"

"A boyfriend," Akari once again answered.

"You two will be the death of me," Kisara declared as she took a spray bottle of cleaning solution and waved it around, "Now come here so I can wash those dirty, gossiping mouths of yours!"

She ran towards the two pretending to spray them as they squealed in laughter and scattered across the kitchen.

* * *

Kaiba was, to say the least, overwhelmed with the realization of how much work he was behind. Although he had a dependable team of men and women working constantly for him, their dependability only accomplished so much. It seemed like every single person underneath him or every businessman in partnership sought his validations. It just wasn't the same unless they communicated directly with him. Not to mention, the four days he was out were not in any way flawless. Any working day had issues, and these problems were only exponentially worse when he wasn't there to solve them the day of.

He aggressively rubbed his forehead as he found himself speak in a rush of Mandarin with a businessman from Beijing and tried his best to understand him back. Despite being well-versed in the language and sharing many similarities with Japanese, there was always room for error and misunderstandings, and this time, there were too many for his liking.

Having his eyes downcast on his screen, he barely noticed Kisara silently take her seat in front of him. After what felt like half a day, he finally ended the call and wearily looked up. She wasn't even looking at him as she drank her coffee and looked out toward the horizon.

"How was work?"

Kisara broke her daydreaming and looked back at him. She set down her cup and nonchalantly answered, "As exciting as that phone call."

"So, agonizingly painful for you as well."

"Hmm," Kisara mused, "It _was_ awful having two coworkers constantly insist you were my boyfriend."

"And why would that be awful?" Kaiba questioned, not realizing what he had implied.

"Because-" Kisara stopped, suddenly confused by his question. She composed herself, "Because that isn't...that isn't right. I'm not with you."

Kaiba noticed the atmosphere suddenly get serious, and he was reminded once again there were limits between them. He cleared his throat and said, "I was joking. I don't think either of us appreciate being associated like that."

"Yeah," Kisara quietly agreed. She changed subjects, "So did you get any information on Reo?"

As much as Kaiba wanted to avoid the question again, he knew he had skirted around long enough. It was highly uncharacteristic of him to be so passive, but it seemed as if everything he thought he was capable of before shattered whenever it came to her. He hesitantly answered, "Yes."

Kisses blinked. She further questioned, "More specifically…?"

"More specifically, I don't want you seeking him out at the moment," he blurted.

"Sorry?"

Kaiba sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was really now or never that he finally got the chance to explain everything. Everything was calm. There were a few others on the rooftop but no one glanced their way. The sun head about to peak, starting a whole new day. Was it right for him to start her day with everything he had kept in the quiet? On top of that, she looked terribly tired after working her shift.

"I have a lot to say," he slowly continued, "But I'd rather we go back to your place and not spoil your favorite time of day."

Kisara worriedly studied his profile, her fingers rubbing a study beat against the paper cup. What was it that prevented him from revealing such a simple piece of information? She pressed her lips together and silently nodded her head.

* * *

"I think Serenity's still asleep," Kisara remarked as she unlocked her front door. She asked, "Have a seat."

"I have to go to work soon," Kaiba stood frozen with his back against her front door. She turned to face him. She hadn't turned on any light as of yet, so the small entirety of the living space was relatively dim, with only early sunlight pervading through the cracks of the few blinded windows.

"Alright. So what's your problem with telling me where Reo is?"

"If you go to the hospital where he is," he felt his throat get caught. For all the confident speeches and insolent tirades he was known for, not a bit of that fire sparked inside of him. He mustered, "You'll most likely find someone you won't like by his side."

"Someone I won't like?" Kisara wondered whoever that could be. It was pretty difficult for her to truly hate anyone. Her face turned serious as she said, "Look, Kaiba. I really would like a clear answer to everything instead of your roundabout ways."

"Someone like his-" Kaiba found himself incapable once again. He thought anger bubbled inside of him, anger toward himself and his uncharacteristic incompetency. It all exploded as he hurriedly said, "Maybe someone like his wife or his kid or….that's all, really." Flustered, he took a deep breath and awaited her response, one that he didn't want to be around for.

Instead, she grinned, but it was a smile of disbelief. She looked over to her side and shook her head, as if Kaiba had just delivered the joke of the century. She eventually stated, "I think staying up all night has gotten to you. You should leave and take a small nap before work."

His phone blared.

In truth, he was late for work. That was probably his secretary reminding him. Kaiba let the shrill noise continue, refusing to answer it, and instead focused on her instead, "I'm not making this up. I wouldn't lie about this."

When Kaiba was certain, it was doubtless. She felt the same conviction in his words when he spoke about his Blue Eyes. This time, however, she didn't want him to be confident. It was a hopeless search for doubt as she denied, "It's not that I think you would. It's that I don't think you have the right guy in mind. That's not possible."

"It's not impossible. I happened to see his medical records and his wife was registered as an emergency contact. His child was listed under insurance claims. I have tangible evidence."

"Then show me them," Kisara found herself raising her voice, stemmed from both denial and fear. She muttered, "Show me those files."

Kaiba's phone continued to ring. Was it the second or third iteration at this point? He sighed and continued to ignore it, irritatedly stating, "I don't have time to go scrounging for his medical records again. Hell, I'm already extremely late by just being here."

Kisara looked at his pants' pockets, realizing that whoever was calling him must have been from work. She placed a hand firmly on the door knob and demanded, "Get off. I don't want to take any of your precious time, and I definitely don't want to be a nuisance. Just leave."

"It's too late for that," Kaiba firmly replied, refusing to lift his body off the door. His hand met hers on the door knob, earning him a distressed look on her face. His fingers actually trembled as they enclosed her wrist, and his thumb searched for beat in her veins. It was there. A subtle, yet remarkably fast pulsing. He lowly said, lowering his face towards hers to make himself clearer, "Amano, you've been a thorn in my ass ever since I found you loitering in my office. You are literally the only thing that doesn't make sense in a world I've carefully constructed to be systematic. If you think you're problematic now, then don't think it's anything new. I'm staying until you actually believe me."

Kisara bit her bottom lip, recognizing that his thumb circled her wrist and eventually pressed itself firmly against her skin. She dejectedly said, "Ok. I'll say I do believe you. How long have you known?"

"Does that matter?" His voice was a lot quieter.

"Yes, it does," Kisara firmly declared, "Because I suspect you've known longer than you should."

"The day before Battle City started."

Kisara took back her hand, holding herself together with her arms. She scoffed and bitingly said, "A week before...and the week of Battle City you saw me every day. You kept that to yourself all this time, and you had the nerve to tell me you _care_ about me?"

When she said that, his insides started to get riled up. Telling her he cared wasn't an easy feat. Hell, he wasn't even in his best state of mind when he confessed. She just verbally smacked it back. "Because I didn't feel like I had a place in your business then," Kaiba quickly reasoned, afraid that he was losing her, "And the timing was just inappropriate. You had your responsibilities for Battle City, and it would've been a huge distraction. Think of how much that would've impacted you at the time."

"So you think I couldn't have handled personal drama? You were afraid I would, what? Have a public breakdown in front of everyone? Do you know how hard I worked in preparation?" Kisara found herself shouting again. She shakily said, "You kept that to yourself because you doubted me, and you care more for how your company was represented. Did you ever check up on how I was doing while I was working for you? I freaking learned how to pilot a plane in case one of your stupid dragon jets went haywire. I did skydiving simulations. I studied so many duels in the past decade just so I could make references and make smarter commentary when I was hosting the field. All of that within a month or two just so I could disprove millions around the world and _you_ that I wasn't some _pretty face_ being casted to fulfill your weird dragon fantasy."

" _Of course_ I knew you were doing those things!" he snapped, "Just because I never acknowledged any of those things, that doesn't discredit the time I personally took to craft your schedule. I could've easily left that to someone else." Kaiba's words were breathless, as if he was trying to save every piece of himself for her.

"You probably only did so as extra insurance I wouldn't screw up. To ensure your tournament and company weren't misrepresented," Kisara meekly responded. She never knew Kaiba was the one who had set up her grueling schedule. She never asked who did and always reasoned it was someone under him. As nice as it was to know that, feelings of confusion and intense nausea were blasting everywhere in her mind and body.

"No, damn it," Kaiba rubbed his eyes aggressively and continued to ignore the incessant ringing. Whoever was calling him was being outrageously persistent, but nothing else was more important than now. He further explained, "I suppose that's partially true but look, I knew how much work you put into that job. I personally set up your training and schedule, as difficult as it was, because I wanted to see if I was wrong about you in my assumptions back in Indonesia. You fortunately disproved me in not being just a pretty face. Me refusing to tell you was because I didn't want to run the risk of sacrificing all your hard work over emotional issues, not just because I want to save my company's face."

"How do I know you're not just covering your real intentions? How do I know you're not just saying that so I don't blow up in your face?"

"At this point, you're doing everything you can to just disprove anything I say," Kaiba frustratingly pointed out as he scoffed in disbelief. He couldn't believe he was still putting up with her, and he couldn't believe he was trying to dig himself out of a poor image in her mind. As much as he wanted to raise his voice again, he mellowed, "I'm right here, aren't I? I'm hilariously later than I've ever been for work. I haven't even bothered to touch my phone. I'm putting aside what I've prioritized my entire life just so I can be here with _you_. Arguing and getting nothing done."

The ringing in the background made every second between more intense that it already was. Kisara brushed back loose strands behind her ear and tried her best to calm down. She couldn't even look at his face as she found herself staring at the Red Eyes Black Dragon welcome mat Joey had given Serenity as a housewarming gift. His words were heavily sincere, and it was there when she wanted to shut up and accept her crippling reality - the reality that she had been played as some sort of _other woman_ by someone who she thought held her in his best regards. Her head got so dizzy that she found herself leaning forward and hitting it gently against his chest.

Kaiba's hands immediately squeezed her shoulders but they didn't pull her away; it was weirdly getting harder to do that whenever a situation similar came around. She retracted herself, brushing her hair back and avoiding his looks.

Kisara muttered, "I, um, I don't know why you're still here then if you have to go."

"I think you know perfectly why," Kaiba faintly reminded.

Because he wanted to make sure she was fine? That he actually did have that ounce of care within him to stick around? Kisara hugged herself, as if that could be enough to reassure herself. The most negative and hurt parts of her arose to the surface, however, and it became an excuse for her to pit more blame on him. She irritatedly quarreled, "Assuming your reasons during Battle City are truthful, then I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. However, I don't see what fueled you to duel Reo...over this? What compelled you to do something so extra instead of, I don't know, calling me when you had my number? The entire time he was out, and I didn't know what happened, I was sick with worry, Kaiba. You could've just told me and saved my moping and actually let _me_ face my own battles."

" _He_ challenged _me_."

"Was he the one who programmed the duel to be some sort of death match?"

"No, but," Kaiba further explained, "But you have to understand that I haven't dueled in years. It made it more exciting."

"So conditions extreme enough to hospitalize someone are acceptable as long as they satisfy your adrenaline cravings?"

"No," He denied again. He wasn't even sure why he answered her like that. It wasn't a complete lie that the conditions made everything more exhilarating. However, his motivations were largely influenced by other factors. Kaiba stated, "To reiterate, I...don't understand half the things I do when it comes to you. Admitting my lack of knowledge is something completely outlandish for me, but that's just fucking reality at this point. Something I think both of us share concerning each other."

Kisara silently listened.

"When you left the day before, I figured that was the last time I'd see you…and within one day I already felt like it wasn't right. Sometimes I don't know if it's me feeling that way, or if it's…if it's my atrocious past self that I can't seem to escape no matter how I hard I wish," he lingered over that last sentiment, unsure if he was even making sense himself. They never did get to talking about their history and how much the other one knew, but her face remained gaunt without a trace of confusion. He continued, "And something in me snapped when I found out that he had been using you all this time, and it only ate away at me. I _wanted_ to tell you but I couldn't ruin what we had. Those mornings? Breakfast and working out? Why the hell would I spoil those? When you left, I thought that teaching Hamada a lesson he'd never forget was my last favor for you, as fucked up as that turned out to be."

"It wasn't a favor. A favor benefits the other person. You just prolonged the issue when you literally could have told me! _I'm_ responsible for my own relationships, and I _don't_ need you to manipulate them for me through hostile actions!"

"I'm not the only one that has been keeping secrets!" Kaiba finally lost it. He ran a hand through his hair and kept it there, pulling firmly as if he could rip all of it out. He blasted, "Damn it, Amano. If I'm wrong about keeping my mouth shut, then you're equally wrong for acting ignorant about your nightmares and hallucinations! You wasted my time, and I wasted yours. Fucking accept that instead of interrogating me and regurgitating all my honesty. You're dead wrong for thinking I looked down on you or if I didn't trust you to deal with matters yourself. If anything, _I'm_ the one that's being kicked aside for being the most honest!"

At this point, a scream-fest was going to explode. He had his points but she had hers too, ones that she didn't have the mental fortitude to voice, and she wasn't in her right state of mind to simplify a situation as complicated as the now. Kisara needed a break. She needed sleep and time to deduce everything. Alone.

She closed her eyes as she listlessly said, "I need time for myself. There's a lot I have to think about...and this has been too much for how little time I've had to process everything. I still want his location. See your way out, Kaiba."

"Fine."

Kaiba didn't hesitate as he turned the door knob and left. His phone continued pulsating and ringing at egregious levels. He nearly tripped his feet over the apartment stairs, stumbling toward the end. He caught himself and kept his head low as a resident glanced over his way while pulling out his phone.

Pulling into his car, without even reading caller ID, he roughly shouted into his phone, "Fuck off! I'm going now."

"...Yikes."

It was Mokuba and because it was Mokuba, he felt worse than he already was. Kaiba calmed down and started his engine. He added, "Sorry. I'm going."

"Alright. Word of warning, Seto. It's a mess right now."

Kaiba could hear a background noise of bellowing and the clattering of numerous objects against who-knows-what. He braced himself for his official first day back. There would be no room for thinking about white haired women and hospitalized cheaters when there was a whirlwind of other issues at the office. He was nearly grateful that he had an excuse to shut his personal thoughts off.

Kisara locked her door as soon as he stepped out. She stood there for a good while, despite her mind and body aching for a long rest in her warm bed.

"Was that you and Kaiba? Just now?"

The soft voice of her roommate emerged. Kisara turned to see Serenity resting against the doorframe of her bedroom. Their fight must have woken her up, and Kisara felt even worse. She answered, "Yeah. It's no big deal. Sorry."

"Is there something going on that you haven't been telling me?" Serenity asked. She had heard bits and pieces of their argument, but not enough to fully comprehend their situation. Not only that, but she simply couldn't imagine that her friend and Kaiba even had anything to argue over. Still, she was curious and held concern for Kisara. She added, "You know, Kisara, I'm here for you, right? I want to be as present as possible before I leave. I'm not going to be here to cradle you to sleep on that torn couch of ours soon."

Kisara chuckled and felt her heart get warm. As much as she wanted to tell her everything, she simply didn't have the energy to dispel it. She smiled, comforted by her offer, but shook her head in decline. She explained, "Not right now, Serenity. There's a lot I want to say, but I can't before thinking more."

"Alright. Good night, Kisara...or good morning?" Serenity frowned as she watched Kisara head to her respective bedroom and also noticed the sun aching to get past their shuttered windows. She decided to wish, "Sleep well."

"I'll try."

* * *

Kisara woke up to a text from Kaiba, but it wasn't one of anything personal. It was just the name of the hospital. She tapped her finger against the glass screen, wondering if she should bother sending him a thanks. She decided not to. Instead, she decided to do her usual wake up routine and lived her day normally, with her two shifts and anxiously waiting for calls from agencies.

The next day, however, she had enough time to investigate the hospital. Her goosebumps came alive as soon as she walked into the dismally white interiors. One hand rubbed her opposite arm, as if to reassure her that she wasn't a patient anymore. Her eyes zoned in on the main desk, and she ignored the existence of people in waiting and nurses shuffling around.

"I'm visiting someone," she stated in a robotic voice.

The front-desk lady looked up and told her, "May I ask who?"

"Reo Hamada."

"Your relationship with the patient?"

Kisara must have looked dumb the way she gawked at the nurse. Her mouth was clamped shut and her eyes bereft of life. She didn't even know the answer to that anymore.

"Co-worker."

That wasn't her who answered. She slowly turned to see a woman walking towards her, whose face could light up the whole room. She had mid-length dark brown hair curling out at the ends, and bright green eyes that danced with friendliness. She had on a comfortable set of clothes, from a simple shirt and grey slacks. No makeup.

The woman spoke again, "Kisara Amano, correct?" Instead of waiting for an answer, she turned to the desk lady and explained, "She worked with my husband. I suspect she caught wind and wanted to visit."

" _Maybe someone like his wife or his kid or….that's all, really."_

Kisara felt someone tap against her leg. She looked down to see a little girl, whose eyes resembled the woman's and hair the same flaxen shade of Reo's. Her hair was tied up into two pigtails and a huge smile crossed her face.

"You're the dragon lady, aren't you?" The little girl excitedly asked as she showed Kisara a plushie of a Blue Eyes White Dragon in her hands. Her grin showed that she still had her front two teeth missing. She included, "My daddy always wins me these at Kaiba Land!"

"Himeko!" Her mom harshly whispered and pulled her daughter away from Kisara. She nervously laughed and told Kisara, "I'm sorry about her. I tell her not to touch strangers, but she never listens."

Kisara was even more nervous in her polite chuckle before answering, "N-no. It's fine. She's...adorable."

"Don't go praising her like that," the woman playfully said as she winked toward Kisara. She introduced herself, "I'm Yukina. C'mon. I'll take you to see him."

Kisara silently nodded her head as she followed behind the two, with Yukina holding tightly onto Himeko's hand as the mother frequently chimed on childish topics with her daughter. She didn't have the guts to even see their backs and chose to frequently reference her monotonous surroundings. It was all a blur, with the sickly bland, monochromatic color palette of the hallways and that equally nauseous, distinct hospital smell.

"I'm sorry," Kisara suddenly announced as she stopped in the middle of the hallway. That earned two looks back.

"Is there something wrong?" Yukina worriedly questioned.

"I, uh, I can't be here," she insisted, "I-I really hate hospitals. I-I don't know why I-I even came."

"Oh, sweetie, that's alright. I can take you outside myself."

Yukina strode over and placed a hand upon Kisara's shoulder, who recoiled in horror from the kind gesture. Kisara got flustered and her heart rate increased. She smacked the other woman's hand away in fear, earning a surprised expression on Yukina's face.

"Oh my god," Kisara paled. The guilt that had been building up was getting strenuous. She uttered, "I'm so sorry. I'm really sorry. I-I'm-"

Before she could run away, the other woman pulled her into an unexpected embrace. Kisara held her breath, floored by the kindred act. She felt a hand rub her back in an attempt to comfort her growing anxiety. She didn't feel comfort in the slightest, only shame. Her body was stiff as her mind couldn't believe how nice this woman was to a complete stranger. Her teeth clamped her bottom lip, holding back a sob.

But she let Yukina care for her as she found herself sitting on a bench outside. The outside world was annoyingly sunny and the sky was an absurd azure. Kisara watched Himeko play with other children from a near playground that the hospital had to offer. She watched the little girl approach other kids to play with her. Himeko appeared to have the social charisma that Reo boasted in his workplace.

"Here."

Kisara accepted a styrofoam cup of water from the approaching Yukina, who gracefully sat next to her. She thinly smiled and nodded her head in thanks, sipping her water. Holding the cup on her lap afterwards, she kept her eyesight on the water instead of the woman next to her.

"Are you feeling better?"

Kisara automatically answered, "Yeah."

She felt the woman give her a good stare. Eventually, Yukina asked, "Did you...forget that you hated hospitals? I don't mean to sound rude, but you came here on your own volition."

Kisara wondered for a while on answering that. She decided to reply, "I haven't forgotten. I just didn't know how much I hated them until now."

"Hm. Have you had a history with hospitals?"

Kisara's eyes veered to her side, enough to see the other woman's hands encompass her own water cup. She quietly voiced, "Not a lot but enough."

"Ah...well, sorry for asking," Yukina drank her water, "So, I take it that Reo has made an impact on you?"

"W-What?"

"You're here for him, right? A couple of his other coworkers have visited. I heard it was some dueling accident with new machines. I don't know why he was a tester...but I mean he's always wanted to duel ever since he quit the Pro-Leagues."

Kisara figured she was lied to. Everyone must have covered it up as an accident. Before she could respond, Yukina continued ranting, "I swear. Men are so impulsive. If I had known, I would've never let him duel. For testing purposes, no less. Ugh, it was a pain trying to arrange daycare for Himeko so suddenly, with my own job and all."

"Mm," Kisara barely let out. She audibly noted, as if to change the focus, "I notice you have a slight accent. Korean?"

Yukina amusingly chuckled and answered, "Yes. Is it strong?"

"Not at all. It's great," Kisara politely smiled, "I wish I could speak another language. But um...how come your name is Japanese?"

"I decided to change it."

Kisses raised her eyebrows and finally glanced toward her, although her eyes were low and only looked at the other woman's neck, decorated with a fine gold necklace.

"Are you confused?" Yukina laughed and explained, "My real name is Yujin. I moved to Japan when I was 20, and that's when I just decided to pick up a Japanese name….although there were other reasons. I actually went to the same university and was in the same year as Reo in Busan. We both moved out and decided to settle here in Domino."

"You both moved here when you were both 20?" Kisara repeated in surprise. Her eyes shifted toward Himeko, who seemed to be having fun ordering the other children in the sandbox. If she thought about it, Himeko looked around six to eight. Hamada was 27.

"Mhm," Yukina nodded. She followed Kisara's line of sight, seeing that she was looking at her daughter. The mother figured the white haired woman probably put two and two together. She remarked, "Ms. Amano. You're a very beautiful woman."

Kisara pulled away from Himeko and changed focus to Yukina. She felt her face her hot, feeling both thankful and horrible. She murmured, "T-thanks."

"I bet you get that a lot," Yukina continued with a warm smile, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"...No."

"Mm...that's good. I envy you. For your beauty and your freedom."

Kisara see her cup to the side and quickly waved her hands in disagreement. She hurriedly commended, "You're beautiful yourself! And you don't look a day over 20!"

Yukina widened her eyes, shocked by Kisara's sudden emotion. She only burst into laughter as she covered her mouth.

"It's not the same," Yukina softly stated as she dreamily watched her daughter play. Her previously cheerful face turned somber as her smile dropped to a slight frown. She solemnly commented, "I love my Himeko and my husband...but there are days when I wonder how things would be different - if I were to spend my twenties worrying over what dress or what brand of makeup to buy, instead of calculating how much to buy and how much to cook for two other mouths. I only have time for the latter option, along with working a lesser job after dropping out of university to take care of Himeko. That's why I think it's good you don't have a boyfriend. Less room for accidents, as wonderful as they may be…Sorry. I've said a lot, haven't I? Seeing a pretty young woman always makes me wonder."

Kisara felt her eyes getting red. It was a good thing that Yukina had decided to look at her daughter. She lowered her head and suffered from the heaviness accumulating in her mind. Why did his wife have to be so amiable? She didn't know how she was supposed to feel. The affection she had for Reo wished his wife was someone to hate, someone who should've been so horrific that she would perhaps understand why Reo chose infidelity. The kindred spirit of Yukina only worsened the exponentially growing guilt in her and made her heart grow livid for Reo.

"I don't think that was a waste," Kisara nervously stated. Yukina glanced at her in question. Kisara added, "I might be freer...but I haven't got a clue what I want to really pursue. Everyone around me seems to have settled down or at least knows what they're doing. I'm just making ends meet and paying old debts. I'm...just as stuck as you in a different way, but you know, we still have the rest of our lives. It doesn't matter how "late" we start. It's hard to believe that in the meanwhile though...but it's true."

"Am I speaking to a senior? You sound so old!"

Yukina placed a friendly hand on Kisara's shoulder and laughed again. This time, Kisara joined in. The two chortled as if they were long-time friends, meeting after years of not seeing each other.

"No, but seriously! You look great! You're the one that sounds old for suggesting that you aren't beautiful yourself now that your early twenties have faded! I have a friend who has already reached her thirties, and she's still stunning," Kisara insisted as her tone got noticeably brighter, "All the other moms must be jealous when they see you."

"You're too nice," Yukina shyly said, "But thank you. Lord knows I needed that. Having Himeko and Reo usually waves those thoughts away anyways. A rascal of a daughter and a loyalhusband is a blessing for my situation."

"Y-yeah," Kisara slowly agreed. She picked her water cup and stood up, saying, "I, um, I have to go."

"You're not going to see Reo?"

Kisara politely shook her head, although she wryly smiled. She reasoned, "I have work."

"Is that so?" Yukina nodded her head and waved her hand as she said, "Have a nice day, Ms. Amano."

"Same to you...Mrs. Hamada."

* * *

Kisara came home to an empty apartment. Serenity was gone with her other friends. She was alone. She moved to her couch and face-planted herself. Her fingers rubbed against the smooth cloth of her pillow and made a small scratching noise.

What was there to think about? She truly thought she would go insane.

And if she thought she _would_ , she knew she definitely _did_ when she felt the same haunting presence crawl atop her laying body. This time, her body immediately reacted as she jerked upwards, reversing her body so she laid facing the ceiling. Her breathing became faster, and her eyes darted back and forth from all points in the living room.

"Who's there?!" Kisara shouted toward the void of the room. There was no one in sight and there was no sound except for the dripping of the faucet water plunking against unwashed dishes.

She was answered by no one.

Kisara scoffed at her own lunacy, putting one hand on her face and trying her best to stabilize her breathing. She had no room for her hallucinations anymore than she had no room for her unnecessarily complicated relationships.

She lived her days bothered at every second. When she saw herself in the mirror, she was disgusted by her appearance. Her makeup got heavier, as if she could mask the ugliness she saw. Kisara could only see a despicable woman who had slept with another woman's husband - another woman who seemed to be good at heart. Every time she showered, it didn't feel like the water could wash away the grime and dirt. The skin she felt when she lathered her body in thick body wash felt achingly rough. Her skin touched his several nights, thinking then that his was hers to play with.

For a man who Kisara thought was better than the others, she was confronted by the brutal reality that he wasn't even hers from the beginning. She really did like him. Perhaps not love, but perhaps one day she would've, if not for Reo's recent absences. She thought maybe she could open up more if the opportunity and time granted her a smooth road with Reo. Of course, neither happened.

Reo didn't contact her, and at this point, she didn't care whether he woke up or not. However, she felt herself still tied to him, as neither talked to each other. For that, she kept herself cooped up with work and auditions, declining invites from Serenity for a date out at night, or group outings with her coworkers.

Some day, Serenity peeked into Kisara's bedroom, seeing her simply mope and lay on her bed with her phone out. She proposed, "Mokuba invited us to hang out at his apartment. The usual crew will be there too!"

Seto Kaiba was a whole different story that she buried behind her issues with Reo. Kisara bluntly stated, "I don't feel like it."

Serenity suddenly opened the door wide and dove right into bed with her best friend, who yowled in protest and tried to fight her off. Serenity seized her phone and tossed it aside, pulling Kisara into a tight embrace. Kisara muttered incomprehensible words, but was gracious for the comfort of Serenity.

"Why have you been so sad recently? Are you still upset with Kaiba? You never told me what it was about."

Kisara huffed and pulled away. She sat up and partially confessed, "It's not him! I mean, yes, it's him too, but that's separate. I'm cutting off my boyfriend."

"Really?!" Serenity sat up as well and said, "What happened? You've been pretty secretive about him, so I have no clue how much this means to you."

"Let's just say I know why really wanted me to be secretive now," Kisara angrily responded, "I don't want to talk about it, and I definitely don't want to deal with seeing Kaiba. I'm going to watch TV."

Serenity watched Kisara leave in a tempestuous manner, and she was absolutely boggled as to what had been bothering her roommate for so long. It looked like she was going alone tonight.

As she left the bed, she heard a notification sound. Serenity searched through the mess of bed sheets and found Kisara's phone. She happened to read the text notification:

 _reoreoreomyboat: Can we talk?_

Then the phone started ringing. Serenity furrowed her eyebrows and walked into the living room with the phone in hand and announced, "Kisara! ' _R_ _eoreoreomyboat'_ is calling..."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This is fanfiction is super slow-burn haha I hope you guys are patient. I still have a lot in store.

 **Review Responses:**

 **ChaoticSkunkDemon:** And she did find out LOL

 **CryMeOut:** Oh yeah, it's going to be a long while with how I've set the story to be hehe. I made him explain himself a lot this chapter so the whole relationship doesn't take like a mile backwards. Ah, so happy to hear that you're looking forward to what's in store! Yes, I do like Mokuba/Serenity, but I feel like it's within my fanfiction LOL I love writing brother interaction so it's nice to know you enjoy it!

 **WBAD:** That's an awesome coincidence, haha. That's happened to me before too, and I was so happy that day. Oh no, your reviews are never annoying! They make me smile with how detailed they are, and they absolutely have me floored to know that you appreciate my story so much! Yeah, a lot goes on and try to make chapters that are kind of fillers to break things out ^^

Ohhh lord, I don't think I've really written out Reo's reasons and background that much, but I definitely am saving it for soon ;) Yeah, I'm stretching more for Kisara right now, but I do still try to balance Kaiba's side. I feel like I made things more tense this chapter, but it's gonna be more whirlwinds of tension later, but I definitely want to write more fun breaks.

Omg that martyr concept has me dying! I did consider Kaiba being more edgy by being like that but I caught myself before shooting my foot LOL Ah...thank you so much for liking the relationship I'm setting up between the two. It's definitely rocky, but I try to make it believable. I'm lowkey frightened of a later time in the story when all will be smooth-sailing because I'm so used to crafting arguments haha.

IKR GX WAS BOTH INSANE AND AMAZING and it can all be traced back to Kaiba! I both hate and love how crazy this guy is, but that's just what makes him awesome. I would love to input GX easter eggs here and there for later, hehe.

My decision for Kisara to dislike the BEWD was something I had to think a lot about. I want to say why, but it's saved for the future ;)

Your reviews give me life ^^ Thank you so much for your love, and I hope I don't disappoint!

 **Bleach power:** Oh my gosh, I would love my own baby Blue Eyes too. It's good that last chapter was relaxing for you because I didn't want all the tension to crash together too quickly. I can't wait to write out an official first date between just the two of them, haha!

 **Juella:** It's a lot because I write a lot! Yep, I'm trying to shed more character from Kisara right now, and thinking about how to write her is a lot more complex than I initially planned, but I'm still here! It actually _was_ a plot device just to complicate drama, but I just fleshed things out a lot more. I'm glad that my details have made things a bit believable, as I really do want to put some sort of meaning behind my writing decisions. As much as I want to just write all humour, I also want to do all this angsty blueshipping stuff LOL

YEAH I'M SURPRISED MYSELF THAT THEY KIND OF WORK? At least within fanfiction!

Hehe, I'm sorry. It's a habit.

 **Ai Star:** :,) Seems like he has a hard time weaseling out of anything from Kisara.

 **itxprincessxlala:** Hope your new job is working out ^^ Yeah, I really like writing normal conversations between them to help ease the tension. Thanks for noticing how much I try to connect everyone, ah!

Yes, definitely more action later! And I think things will start to mellow out with the way I've planned things, so that wall, like in most Kaiba fanfics, will start to disappear. Thank you!


	19. Chapter 18: Umbrella

_You're part of my entity,_

 _here for infinity,_

 _When the world has took its part,_

 _When the world has dealt its cards,_

 _If the hand is hard,_

 _together we'll mend your heart._

* * *

Serenity stepped into her boyfriend's apartment, warmly greeted by Mokuba's welcoming arms and his announcement, "She's here, guys! Now, Yugi, you better tell us what you're hiding right now!"

As she shut the door behind her, Mokuba let go and practically slid toward the spacious living room, where Yugi, Joey, and Mai were situated on the couch. Mokuba crashed in between Yugi and Joey as he enthusiastically wrapped one arm around the short man's shoulder.

"Wait a minute. I thought Kisara was coming," Yugi said.

Serenity settled comfortably against Mai as she shook her head. She explained, "She's preoccupied."

"Is it dat boyfriend, again?" Joey frowned and scratched his head. He instinctively kicked his feet upon the coffee table.

"Feet off my fucking table, _mutt_."

Joey immediately retracted his legs as soon as he heard that familiar voice called behind him. It looked like Kaiba had silently entered the near vicinity. The brown haired man had descended down the stairs, with full intent to be silent and leave undisturbed after refilling his empty glass. He was relatively unbothered by the act itself. Heck, he did it himself on a regular basis. However, he was simply stressed from still trying to tie up loose ends for work that he found it too easy to provoke the blond. Much to his surprise, Joey didn't even argue.

"Actually, yeah," Serenity softly answered Joey, as if to distract everyone else from eyeing Kaiba. She thinly smiled and stated, "She's on a date right now with her boyfriend. That's all." Her eyes pretended to look at Joey, but her line of sight was good enough to deserve Kaiba in the background, in the kitchen refilling his glass with water from the refrigerator. For the slightest of seconds, she swore she could see him pause and look her way. He quickly turned to look back at his glass. However, it looked like he had his head in space, as his cup accidentally overflowed. The man didn't even panic, simply releasing his hold on the filter and sipping from the glass to prevent further spills.

And then Kaiba returned to his study.

"Really? Aw, that's a shame," Yugi commented, bringing Serenity back to the conversation at hand,

"The news, sweetie?" Mai piped in as one who didn't pine around for news. She crossed her arms and added, "Seriously, it feels like we've been here for like an hour and you're holding us hostage."

"Well…" Yugi paused dramatically as he combed through his hair with his hand, "Téa's coming back in a week!"

"Seriously?!" Joey shrieked and smacked Mokuba's arm away from Yugi. He then proceeded to wrap his arms around his friend and deadlocked him. He smiled and exclaimed, "No way! It's literally been, what, two years?"

"At this point, I consider her an American," Mai smirked as she pulled Serenity into an embrace, mirroring the over-affectionate tendencies of her boyfriend, "But I hope she gets here before this girl leaves for Tokyo."

"And before this boy leaves for America," Yugi added as he gestured toward a grinning Mokuba.

"It's really been that long? God, it seems like yesterday when she happened to give us some moral speech," Mokuba remarked as he was overcome with nostalgia, "Me especially at one point, heh. Typical mom of the group."

"I think there was more than just _some_ ," Serenity lightheartedly mused. She raised a brow toward Yugi and remarked, "But I know _someone's_ going to be particularly overjoyed at her return."

"Ain't dat da truth?" Joey joined in and tightened in his hold on Yugi, who simply laughed it off.

"What is this, high school? She's changed, and so have I. There's nothing between us but friendship," Yugi insisted, "And you know what, guys? I'm fine with that. I _am_ excited to meet up with her again, but that's all there is to it." He playfully unhooked himself from Joey's grip and earned the look of distrust from his friends' faces. He suddenly felt as if no one else seemed to believe in his words. He wasn't sure why. Years ago, he _did_ harbor juvenescent feelings for the leggy brunette. She was, after all, one of the first to reach a hand out towards him at his lowest point. However, things changed and so did their situations. He let his extra feelings disintegrate, unrequited, and she let herself become consumed by her life and career in New York City. In truth, although Yugi had remained in contact and kept his friendship, there existed an established distance that manifested from physical to eventually emotional. His excitement for her return was purely platonic, as she was his friend before any silly crush.

Before anyone could speak up, steps could be heard from behind. Kaiba, who was previously dressed in casual clothes, had donned on his professional attire - a full dark slate suit with a black dress shirt and satin coal tie. In one hand was a small black umbrella, and he made no care to acknowledge the stares from the group.

"Where are you going, Seto?"

"KaibaCorp."

"Wait, it's Saturday night," Mokuba pointed out as he watched his brother hurriedly put on a pair of dress shoes at the front.

"I'm aware that it is. There's some things at the office that I can't trust my associates to handle at the moment, and I've still got plenty of issues to address following my unforeseen absence."

With that, he left.

"God, I'm going to force him to have more fun before I leave," Mokuba whined as he rose up and dramatically stretched his arms towards the ceiling. As his arms came back down, he cheerfully announced, "Alright guys, let's get this booze on and marathon _Duel Monsters and_ _Motorcycles_. I bought like ten pizzas too, so help yourselves in the kitchen!"

"PIZZA?!"

Mokuba winked and laughed at Joey's sudden excitement. He teased, "Do you approve of me dating your sister, now, Joey?"

"Over my dead, Italian-sauce-stuffed body sprinkled wit' GOHgeous, mouth-waterin' parmesan cheese!" Joey bitingly said as he wasted no time zoning towards the kitchen.

"Nice to know my home-cooking hasn't changed his preferences," Mai glumly muttered as she followed her boyfriend.

Yugi was the last to follow the other four into the kitchen. He wouldn't just be a third wheel tonight. He was a _fifth wheel_. He inwardly grimaced and cursed Kaiba for leaving. Kaiba would have literally been the only other single person within the living space, but nope, that man vanished. Yugi just knew that when they were watching the show, both couples would start hugging and snuggling one another, and he would be left to find comfort in a couch pillow.

He couldn't wait for Téa to arrive.

* * *

It was remarkably stupid for her to be out and about. Kisara was rather slow in her walking speed. One hand held an umbrella, of which she fancifully twirled. She was expecting the heavens to crack at any moment now, from reading the forecast this morning and recognizing the obvious gloom of the colorless, monochromatic sky. However, she didn't spend much time looking above, frequenting her stares either straight ahead or lower. Her other hand rested inside the pocket of her dull, army green rain jacket, feeling the metal of her phone through her ceaseless light tapping.

Reo had wanted to talk things over. He was supposed to pick her up, but she had said she could take herself. She had no idea why she even declared such a statement. Neither she or Serenity owned a car, so it wasn't like she could drive herself. Furthermore, it wasn't like the place she had agreed to meet him was within a reasonable walking distance.

Kisara was just hellbent on not relying on any favor from him. Her adamant side was at its peak. She could smell the electricity in the air, and it wasn't from the mess of telephone wires strung haphazardly across the city. She wrinkled her nose and paused once she reached her destination.

It seemed like he really wanted to end things on a fancy note. She scoffed to herself as she noticed a line leading toward outside the swanky establishment. She stopped twirling her umbrella and promptly squeezed it tight as she ventured toward whoever it was at the front with the ornate pedestal.

Before Kisara could even open her mouth, the woman in what appeared to be the restaurant's employee uniform critically scanned her appearance from top to bottom. To say that Kisara was poorly dressed in comparison to the numerous waiting in line was an understatement.

"Back of the line, miss."

She must have looked really terrible. For someone who spent a good portion of her time in front of the mirror, she didn't at all for tonight. Kisara had left her apartment with makeup that hadn't been retouched since the morning of and the most dull colored, baggy clothes her closet had. She thinly smiled and responded, "I happen to have a reservation. I'm Reo Hamada's guest. Kisara Amano."

The lady took one good hard look at her and requested, "ID please."

Kisara gave her license, to which the lady quickly gave back after validating. She was promptly led inside toward the open dining area, to which everyone else seemed to be beautifully dressed, with the men in dapper suits and the women in glittering, designer ensembles. She didn't even read into the restaurant prior, figuring that it was some odd fusion of Japanese-American food from the plates being carried around. It was fancy enough to have some pianist in the center of it all, playing some piece probably composed by someone famous and dead.

Despite the main area being open, she was led by someone else to a more hidden part of the restaurant. It seemed like a secluded area, and it dawned on her that Reo had paid extra for private dining. She wasn't sure whether she should be either impressed or overwhelmed. The moment she stepped into the small room, with a table in the center and a continuous couch against the wooden wall, she felt herself shudder. The door behind her shut.

Reo looked a lot more put together than she did. His flaxen hair was kept neat slicked back, and his dark eyes looked refreshed. Unlike her, there was not a trace of tension. If anything, he looked far too relaxed for her liking. She supposed that it was only right that he looked so serene, seeing as he had been in slumber for about a week. In a situation like this, however, she expected him to be nervous. It seemed like there were parts to him that she didn't know that were slowly surfacing.

He cracked a smile, but she was starting to see the facade of it all.

"Sit."

Kisara glanced at the table, noticing that food was already out. There was even a bottle of wine, with two glasses filled. She knew fully well that she was abysmally late, yet there wasn't an ounce of regret in her. She didn't make a move to transition to the seat. Although she was trying her best to stay calm, she felt her hands start to shake. Kisara held her umbrella behind her, occupying one hand, and shoved her other into her jacket pocket.

"I already know everything," she blurted and continued standing.

Reo raised both his eyebrows, although his demeanor remained calm. He said, "I see that Seto Kaiba has been inappropriately involved."

"He's not the only one that has been "inappropriately involved" with me."

"I would hardly call it inappropriate."

"Excuse me?" Kisara's grip around her umbrella tightened. Her face reddened, feeling it puff in anger. She bitingly remarked, "If infidelity is morally righteous in your head, then I would sincerely ask that you go see a psychologist."

"He would find that I'm perfectly sane," Reo smoothly argued, with the same slick charisma that he put on when dealing with his department. He chose to take his glass and sip from it before continuing, "My wife told me you tried visiting me at the hospital. Tell me. What do you think of her?"

"She's kind, and you're very much undeserving of her care."

"See, that's the bare surface. The _bullshit_ ," he spat. After being calm for a while, his attitude shifted to that of displeasure. His eyebrows furrowed and his dark brown eyes, ones that used to fondly gaze into her own, were cold and calculating. He asked, "How much did she disclose about us?"

"That you two moved here about seven years back after getting married. About the same time you two had a daughter."

"Then you know it was a _shotgun_ marriage," he enunciated the term with utmost disdain. He took one fork and stabbed it harshly against some meat, aggressively taking in the morsel. Kisara watched him in disgust, not understanding how he could possibly have an appetite; she knew she didn't have one. Reo spitefully added, "I didn't love her. I still don't. She just happened to please my parents the most, seeing as our families knew each other well. One night made a mistake-"

"You think your own daughter is a _mistake_?" Kisara cut him off only to repeat his words. She had to verbally repeat it, as it seemed like her head couldn't handle the sudden change in personality she was seeing in this man.

"She was unplanned, and a mistake is a mistake," Reo coldly settled, "It was a mistake that ruined my life. Yukina refused to get an abortion and ratted to her parents. I was _forced_ to tie the knot. I was _robbed_ of a promising career in the Pro Leagues because that bitch and our families insisted that I had to stay and help raise a child. Apparently the Pro Leagues required too much traveling, and thus consumed time away from home. I was lucky enough to escape being near our families by moving here. Do you know how painful it is to wake up every morning to a face you've resented for so long? To hold a child you never wanted? To go to a job that you decided to take because you happened to be skilled at it? And not because you're passionate?"

Kisara felt her throat get caught up. She could barely register his words in light of the anger festering inside of her. She shakily asked, "Are you _seriously_ trying to get me to sympathize with you?"

"Yes...because I want you to understand why I pursued _you_. If I didn't make it obvious enough, I _hate_ my life. Ever since my marriage started, it felt like circumstances dictated my decisions and not the way around - how it _should_ be. _You_...Kisara, _you_ were my first choice in a long string of decisions made _for_ me instead of _by_ me. Every time I see you, I'm reminded that I actually have choices I can make, and because of that, you automatically make me feel better. That's what you mean to me," Reo's voice got softer towards the end, and that same gentle look that she always saw in him started to appear. He was sincere in his words. He added, "You understand, right? That I really do love you?"

"Yeah, I do," Kisara slowly answered. Her lips quivered as she provided, "I understand that you've got a delusional interpretation of me."

"...And why would that be?"

"You think I'm some...some magical girl that's changed your life for the better? I sound like some _accomplishment_ from the way you describe me," Kisara spat, "You don't love me. You love the idea of me, and that's not the same."

"That isn't true, Kisara-"

"Reo," she quickly interrupted him, "We haven't been dating long. I made the mistake of trying to convince myself that I did love you by simply saying it. I've been lying too, to both myself and you."

That shut him up. The second break from his calm disposition was signaled by the hurt in his eyes.

She continued, "Because I've been fake, I've hid parts of me, the ugly ones. I thought about revealing those parts, but now that I know what you are, I don't think you could possibly handle me. You could have never loved me if you only loved the parts I chose to show you. I admit, I never gave you the chance, but now I know I won't in the future...because it's over. Whatever this is."

"Kisara," Reo addressed in a growl and rose up. He said, "What the hell do you mean I never loved you? I _do_ know different sides of you!"

"No, you don't," she insisted. Her eyes started glistening in red, but she held back. Kisara argued, "You don't know how fucked up I was before I finally answered your call about the job at KaibaCorp. You don't know anything about me beyond the image I've built. You think you do because you've placed expectations on me that I can't uphold. I don't exist to make you feel better about a life that you're running away from."

Reo started making steps towards her, to which she suddenly strung her umbrella in front of her and struck his chest, preventing him from nearing her. She bluntly stated, "Bottom line, Reo, _you_ fucked up. You're _scum_. You're romanticizing a disgusting decision that anyone else can see as wrong."

He looked at her with dull eyes. Before she knew it, he had snatched the point of the umbrella toward his direction, flinging it away. Her strong grip caused her to propel forwards, straight into the arms of the man she despised. He pulled her in forcefully, hugging her in a deadlock that she couldn't fight off with her struggling arms.

Reo leaned his mouth towards her ear, angrily whispering, "You're a _filthy slut_ , Kisara. You practically _begged_ me to get in bed with you within the first week. Don't act innocent. You _wanted_ me as much as I wanted you. I don't believe for a second that you never loved me when you've solicited me to join you every night since."

Kisara nearly cried from the pressure he was applying on her. She wanted so desperately to flee, to escape the horrific situation she was in. In all honesty, she never pegged Reo to be physically aggressive, and the shock of the idea and the reality turned her body weak and temporarily paralyzed. However, her pride that had accumulated over the course of time she was able to think prevented her from completely breaking down and sobbing into his chest. Her face was scrunched against the chill of his hardened chest, only removed when he took one arm off her in order to roughly position her chin upwards. His hand had encompassed her delicate neck and slightly suffocated her. He forced her to look into his eyes, and they were ever so alien and inhospitable to her previous understanding of him that it messed her up in more ways than one. Her breathing became shallow.

"The only reason that you despise me right now is because you've been whoring yourself out to Seto Kaiba, and he's been fucking more parts of you than just your body."

Her eyes widened, completely confused as to what the hell Reo was referring to. At this point, she figured that he had conjured lies to satisfy his own vendetta, but his assumptions still hurt her more than she could let on.

Reo did the same whispering thing with her other ear, a tactic meant to send the coldest shivers down her spine. It worked. His mouth barely grazed the cartilage of her ear lobe as he hissed, "Don't tell me nothing has been going on between you two. He isn't someone who would go through such lengths to rectify an issue for just anybody, especially under the conditions that he set, and I certainly know he wouldn't willingly frolic around in some foreign country for the same reason."

"You knew?" Kisara barely breathed out. It was wrong on her end to only say such thing, as it implied that she was guilty of the very thing he was accusing her of.

"Some photographer was smart enough to send his snapshots of you two at some _bar_ directly to the Public Relations department before the press could get their hands on them. He was smart because he knew we would pay handsomely for any copy that he had in order to prevent any scandal that could possibly taint the facade we've carefully constructed to hide Seto Kaiba's illicit behaviors."

"What the hell do you mean by _illicit_?"

"You look so adorable when you look lost, Kisara," Reo, much to Kisara's disturbance, seemed to genuinely describe. He smiled with his full teeth like a lunatic and explained, "Oh, you must know nothing about him, then. I've worked on hiding so much of his past that I could recite every felonious action he's done, and potential repercussions if it weren't for me. I know things that would make your skin crawl. For all the shit I get, I'm the one he's indebted to the most. Man's a _criminal_. Nothing more. Nothing less. The public is his bitch, and women who crowd him are fooled by his good looks and brooding attitude. They think they can melt his icy heart or some _cliché shit_ like that. You are no exception."

Kisara wasn't sure why the topic had suddenly shifted focus to the likes of Seto Kaiba. It seemed like the universe was dooming her to see and hear him everywhere. She hated it. As indignation continued to suppurate in her stomach acids, she was blind to his swift motion of meeting his lips against her chapped ones. She didn't flinch for one second, having to take in the moment to comprehend his audacity to force himself further onto her.

The moment she broke was the millisecond she opened her mouth to invite his tongue inside, coaxing his ambitious intents. The slimy organ of his was one she used to feel some form of ecstasy from, but this time, she could only feel violation. She didn't give him much time to orally explore her, as when enough of his tongue lurched inside, she clenched her teeth shut.

Kisara felt satisfaction as her teeth sunk into Reo's tongue, earning a low growl from the man. His embrace loosened from the sudden attack, giving her enough to room to ram her knee up against his crotch with a force that she hadn't used in a long time. That was enough to send him back a couple of feet, tripping on the seat area and landing himself soundly on his back. His hand slapped over his mouth in pain and he looked at her incredulously, as if he had never seen this side to her. As much as he tried to talk, his tongue was too damaged to articulate his words, and the taste of iron oozed generously inside.

She had hurt his golden tongue, the one he used to manipulate others and excel in the PR department. To him, her former innocence and beauty had now shed for one of vile hatred. Her face appeared enraged, and her hands were curled into fists that caused her knuckles to whiten to an unsightly shade. Reo had no idea what this aura was, but it was one that elicited fear in his chest. What was this? What was this feeling that induced the same sort of terror he related to that of the duel with Seto Kaiba?

Suddenly, she had slapped stacks of paper harshly against his face. It was yen.

"This is a rough estimation of how much you've spent on me this entire relationship," she snidely remarked, "So that I don't owe you anything. I also don't owe you an apology for my affiliation with Seto Kaiba because I never dared to cross a line that you so clearly have with your wife. I know where my loyalties laid. Did _you_? You're a coward. Instead of owning up to your actions, you try to pin the blame on me and another man who you even said shouldn't be involved with our business. Just shut up before you further discredit your already pathetic existence."

Kisara was breathing hard by the end of that tangent. This was it, wasn't it? This was the end of another relationship. She had her fair share of explosive endings, but this one was one of the toppers. The aftereffects would kill her, but that could wait. Her eyes shifted from his cowering figure to that of the plentiful food displayed on the table. It all looked cold.

"Word of advice," she said more calmly, "You don't have to love your wife. I don't know what's going on, but she clings to you and loves that daughter of yours. At least respect her enough to break things off before you pursue someone else. Do joint custody or something. I don't know. I don't think I know anything anymore."

One hand of hers gripped on the door knob. However, before she could leave, Reo spoke up, "But do you at least know if you would've loved me if I didn't have a wife? If the circumstances weren't as they were?"

Kisara shut her eyes in disbelief. He was trying to milk any sort of affection from her. She truthfully answered, with her back towards him, "No. I wouldn't have. Because even before I knew the truth, I found myself gravitating toward someone else, and I should've stopped lying to myself about him long before now. Before I even agreed to _us_."

"It's Seto Kaiba, isn't it?"

Her only answer was shutting the door between her and cutting off the last interaction that she would ever have with Reo Hamada.

* * *

Seto had never been in worse weather than the now of crackling thunder and ominous lighting igniting the darkness of the night sky. Rain pelted down laboriously with rancorous noise, and it was like the heavens were laughing at him for being out here in some godforsaken abandoned street of the city where no one else was insane enough to traverse.

No one else but a blurry figure in the distance, highlighted by her familiar head of white.

She had called him out here.

After a week of no words in between them and with only their fight to reminisce upon, a bitter taste formed on the tip of his tongue every time she had crossed his active and sleeping state. He tried his hardest to hate her. It would've been easy with anybody else, but he was in the wrong as well. It was funny how far he would bend for someone he never wanted to regard in the first place, but here he was. He knew why he cared now, of course.

As Seto neared toward the figure, he noticed that she was walking towards him as well. He noticed that she had no umbrella, yet she seemed unbothered by the pestilent rain drenching her upright posture. Her hair was a curtain to her face, as she didn't bother to pick it apart and place strands behind her ears as she normally did.

For all the resentment that he shared with her, it all dissipated when he understood that he was facing one of the ugliest points in her life. He was fine with that. He actually longed for it, not for her pain, but for an honest moment. Her current ragamuffin appearance fared greatly from her normally crafted exterior, and he knew that her choice to let him see her in such a state was a sign of the changing times.

Seto held his umbrella over her head. He realized he didn't own one big enough to encompass more than one person.

Kisara could only glance up with clear visions when rain stopped attacking her from above. She used to own an umbrella that would've been enough to save the two of them, but it was left behind with the man she also left. Seeing the rain assault him for a change was hilarious. He was dressed so finely in his perfectly tailored suit, yet he allowed himself to be subject to ruin. His face was expressionless, barely visible in ghostly essence of sporadic street lamps, and his wet brown fringes of hair went past the usual eyebrow length to the bottom of his eyes. Her gaze rested on his relaxed lips, which slightly parted as if to voice something but settled on pressing back together.

She let herself genuinely smile. It was crooked, but nonetheless truth shedding past her unscrupulous hair.

He always preferred a real smile, and he found himself wanting to see more of it as his free hand reached toward her face. He thought that he would have been shaking, but his hand was firm and true with its intent. They slowly brushed away her wet hair, placing them rightfully behind her ears.

What he saw was her partially bare face. Seto noticed that she didn't intend to leave her house without makeup, as there were unnatural marks. The eyebrows she usually filled in with some makeup tool were lighter, but there was an ashy tone around them that indicated they were washed away without her rubbing. Her eye area was remarkably dark, with normal eye shadow melting down along with her eyeliner and mascara. Her foundation, which normally covered every imperfection, was translucent. And those lips of hers, usually brandished with a rose color was frightfully a mess of pigment as it trailed down toward her chin. It was like she had at one point bared her face toward the sky and asked the world above to wash the mask away.

Most remarkable was the way she was still trying to put herself together. Her blue eyes looked up toward his with such a haze, and they were tearing up as much as she was on the inside. That soft smile of hers eventually faded at the ends.

If Kisara couldn't pull herself together, that was okay. It was okay because he was right there in the same pitiable moment as she was. Seto understood that it was more than just another man, or even him that sent her over the edge, but perhaps a combination and a plethora of surreptitious issues. What was a full blown sob from her was drowned by the turbulence of the rain and the winds and was coalesced in the warmth of his soaked chest.

Seto, with his free hand, gently pressed her head to rest against his body. Of all the times they had accidentally brushed against each other, this was the first time he fully intended her to be near like so. Of all the times she shed a tear, this time it wasn't because of some hallucination. This was the actual her, the Kisara Amano and not the one from legends past, with her own problems and life.

Kisara relaxed within his embrace, surrendering herself to his newfound affections. She was finally able to succumb to her wants to dissolve comfortably into him, without any guilt. Her arms hesitantly and slowly returned the embrace. He was, after all, still Seto Kaiba. He was still someone she saw as untouchable, but now, he was more open than ever before, and she would gladly return the gesture. Her hold on him grew more confident as she entrusted him to hold her together, to be the one to temporarily stabilize her growing pains.

Her tightening hold allowed him to rest his chin on top of her head. Seto felt every vibration from her body as she openly cried into his chest, probably marking this coal black dress shirt with both her tears and the remnants of her makeup. It was fine. He wouldn't care about that.

He _would_ care to know more about her beyond the visage, and she would just the same for him. Although both suspected the depth of each other's problems and pasts, it was all drowned out for brief bliss and silence from all the tension and arguments that had exploded between them before. Their problems could wait for another ambiguous day and night.

Blasting gales and howling storms couldn't hide the evident warmth emitted between them, generated like old souls found reunited in one poignant junction of time.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Yeah, I was just rewatching Tom Holland dancing to Rihanna's Umbrella, and I thought it was fitting to include some of the lyrics.

 **Review Responses:**

 **itxprincessxlala:** Oof, I was on the fence of how to write out the Wife. As much as I wanted her to be this horrible person, I ended up leaning towards making her overall nice to make Reo look worse. Hope this chapter serves you well!

 **Ai Star:** It didn't :,) But at the same time, it is good.

 **Chaotic Skunk Demon:** Haha, I agree!

 **Bleach power:** Yeah, I sure hope he can help her too x) Although I do want Kisara to like completely beat him up, I had to keep in mind that she's overall nice. Kaiba would've probably been a different story hehe. Oh my god, I love writing about the brothers so thanks!


	20. Chapter 19: Just a Kiss

Kisara did not know how she managed to be in the passenger seat of one of Kaiba's cars. Her eyes gazed downwards towards her lap, where her hands laid with palms upwards. They still felt warm.

The two at one point had to break from one another in their mutual embrace. Kaiba had still kept one arm around Kisara when he jad led her to his car, with the other focusing his umbrella above her body. Her head had been incredibly dizzy, and she remembered continuing to rest against his side, allowing her head to settle upon his shoulder….

"Your apartment?"

Her attention slowly shifted to her right toward her driver. It was still shocking to see Kaiba in such a bedraggled state. His composure remained the usual calm, despite his dampened clothes and wet mop of hair. For some reason, she found herself suddenly shy as she quickly looked away and silently nodded her head.

That was enough indication for Kaiba to start driving. With gravitating silence throughout the entire ride, numerous questions imploded in his head. He wasn't sure what to say, or whether he should really say anything.

She was clueless as well on her end.

They just knew they were comfortable enough with each other for suspended quietness.

* * *

It wasn't until the two had reached her apartment's doorstep that Kisara spontaneously offered, "Would you like some tea?"

Kaiba quietly wondered for a bit on the matter. He knew that Serenity wasn't inside from being over at his apartment with the rest of the dweeb squad, but surely she would come back sooner or later. He theorized that there would be too much explanation due if he were to be caught.

"It's just that, uh-" Kisara sputtered as she hurriedly reasoned, "I usually make too much for just myself, so it would be great if you could drink some. N-not that I'm pressuring you to, I'm just saying that it would be nice and-"

"I'll stay for a bit," he promptly cut her. Kaiba noticed that she was unusually flustered. Her cheeks were tinted pink and her eyes were frantic when she spoke in such an exasperated tone. It was frightfully endearing to see her eyes brighten a bit as she softly smiled and waved for him to enter.

Following her inside, he figured that she was using tea as an excuse, and perhaps a plea, for him to stay. That was okay. It wouldn't have taken much to convince him, anyways.

When they entered the kitchen, Kaiba watched Kisara slip her raincoat off. As she was doing so, he noticed that she didn't have the common sense to zip up, allowing her white tank to be soaked from the rain as well. Something in him stirred when he observed how the whiteness of her top had turned sheer, and he could clearly see the outline of her bra and the shape of her breasts. He knew she had a conventionally nice body, and he even knew the exact measurements of everything. However, he never allowed himself to think of her physique beyond just the image and numerical figures. At least, not until now.

"Could you cover yourself?" Kaiba quietly quipped in annoyance, although toward himself rather than her. He forcibly tore his eyes away.

Kisara, confused, blinked a couple of times. She slowly looked down at herself, realizing too late how exposed she was. Horrified, she blurted, "S-sorry."

Kaiba automatically held a hand over his face over and said, "Go change."

She seemed to catch on as she stated, "Alright."

He was morbidly disturbed the entire time she was gone, not quite understanding why he suddenly thought of her in a different light. Kaiba found himself playing a round of chess on his phone to distract himself until she returned. He continued to do so even when she was present, his eyes sneaking glances in observation of her making tea. It seemed like she wasn't the type to use instant tea bags, but rather had the leaves and herbs and whatnot in her pantry to make the tea from scratch.

Kisara poured the tea into a floral pot and set it against the table, along with a pair of tea cups. As she displaced the liquid into the cups, she mentioned, "Lavender rose. It helps you sleep better." She motioned toward a chair with a towel that she must have placed earlier that he didn't notice.

Kaiba set his phone back into his pocket and sat down for tea. Its supposed effects were different from the extremely caffeinated coffee he usually liked from her.

"Although I can't say it's helped a lot for me," she joked as she sipped from her cup, "Serenity begs to differ though. A couple cups of these makes her sleep like a kitten."

He tested his, rendering him to shortly note, "It's good." Kaiba really didn't know how else to word it. He wasn't exactly an expert on teas, and he definitely wasn't going to pretend like he was one. He made sure to add a small "thanks."

Kisara snickered as she held her cup between her hands toward his brief acknowledgement. She teased, "Almost everyone else I made tea for tries to say something smart. Something about the leaves or scent. You're so blunt that it's actually more sincere than most." With that, she looked away from him and continued to drink her tea, pouring more when she ran out.

 _More sincere?_ That was a first.

"Although I have to say…" she trailed and placed her chin upon her hands. She had on a falsified smile as she insisted, "I wish you'd look a little more alive. I know this tea is supposed to make people sleepy, but not this fast."

Kaiba set his cup down with an audible clank that it made her flinch. He firmly stated, "Do you want me to pretend nothing happened?"

"Sorry?"

"I only stayed because I thought perhaps you needed some closure or something like that," he dryly admitted, "You didn't call _me_ to pick you up from some street without a reason when you could have easily called a service. I know something happened. Look. You don't have to tell me everything, but I don't appreciate your excessive smiling when you clearly shouldn't be."

Kisara widened her eyes as her grin dropped.

"I didn't stay for small talk."

Kisara lifted her eyes toward his hardened gaze. Was this how his business partners felt when they had meetings? The table between them suddenly felt longer than it should have been. She knew he only had so much patience for her hoax, but a part of her continued to cower in her own shadow. One finger of hers tapped against her cup. She managed to let out, "It's over. Him and I."

Kaiba had already figured that one out, but he still felt what was an odd rush of relief wash over him. He was also sure that something catastrophic happened in between the two, as there was no comfort found on her.

"Did he do something to you?" He quietly questioned.

Kisara never wanted to dump her personal problems onto Kaiba. It was something that she couldn't even do with her closest friends, but the urge to go against her normality increased when it came to him. She hesitantly answered, "Yeah."

As much as he wanted to press on, it just didn't feel right.

"Do you want to watch _Duel Monsters and Motorcycles_ with me? There's a marathon right now, and I think that's what my friends are doing at your place. Serenity won't come home until it's over," Kisara suddenly announced. He noticed her fingers fidget and her glaringly obvious nervousness. She further explained, "I - I know I'm avoiding things, and I'm really sorry if I was being fake. But you know, that's just a way for me to cope. What _is_ real is that...I-I really appreciate you just being here for me. It wasn't a mistake that I called you. I wanted you. I still do. It's enough to have you here for now. Can you give me just that? Please?"

Kaiba was at a lost with both himself and her. There were few times in his life when someone actually _wanted_ him. Now was one of them, and he hated himself for liking the prospect. She looked so desperate at the moment, craving for just his presence that he pitied her. At the same time, it was the best he could get out of her, out of the mess that he found himself in.

"Turn on the TV," he briefly mentioned as he got up. He started picking up both their cups and the tea pot.

Kisara found herself shocked that he agreed. When she called him, she did so out of low expectations. The enigma of him was further emphasized by surprise after surprise. She was starting to feel and recognize his claims that he did regard her. She felt her cheeks start to warm all over again, and the thumping in her chest was painstakingly annoyingly fast.

"I might actually finish washing everything before you stop looking stupidly petrified. Are we watching that show or what?"

In a daze, Kisara looked toward her sink, where Kaiba had rolled up his sleeves and was vigorously washing dishes, from recent tea time and from earlier that day. He looked over his shoulder with a quizzical look. She scattered from her chair and walked over to him in a rush, embarrassed that he had bothered to wash the dishes.

"You don't have to do that!" she exclaimed and suddenly turned off the water.

"Tch," Kaiba grimaced and retaliated by turning the sink back on, "I do this all the time. It's literally no big deal."

"All the time?" Kisara looked at him washing in confusion. Her eyes drifted toward his hands, and she found herself actually _admiring_ how nicely sculpted his hands were, more than usual. They were on the slender for a man, perhaps because he spent all his time in an office or lab. She cleared her throat and added, "Don't you have a maid or something?"

Kaiba sighed in frustration. He dryly answered, "Monthly. Mokuba and I can handle cleaning an apartment. He cooks, and the dishes are left to me. Now are you going or not?"

Kisara didn't know why she was starting to see him in a new light. She really couldn't picture the man scrubbing toilets or a tub. She uttered a "thank you" and left for the living room, making sure to grab the towel from the chair Kaiba sat. Her hand zoned in on the remote, and tapped the numbers for the "4Duelists" channels. She spread the towel on the couch on one side,

Kaiba frowned once he entered the living room. He commented, "Is that seriously your couch?"

"Yeah?" Kisara shot him a confused look. She patted the area right next to her and smirked, "I suppose the proper term is _loveseat_."

Kaiba's eyes twitched as he slowly settled on the towel-covered side. The piece of furniture was abysmally small. There were only two inches of space in between her and him that it was aggravating to think about. He bluntly remarked, "Don't tell me you and your roommate sit this close."

"We don't," Kisara briefly answered and suddenly started leaning toward Kaiba. Her head neared toward his face, but Kaiba didn't budge. He wouldn't back away, but he refused to look at her face as he stared straight toward the lit TV screen. In a low whisper, she said, "We sit even _closer_."

"Is this _Duel Monsters and Motorcycles_?" He posed, wanting to switch topics. Kisara only lightly chuckled and withdrew.

"Yep. Don't tell me you haven't watched it. It's the most watched drama in Japan right now!"

"The premise of dueling on motorcycles is enough to make me want to jump out a window."

"It might happen," she teased, "Who knows? KaibaCorp may be the first to come up with a duel runner."

"Not for as long as I live," he muttered as he crossed his arms.

"Pfft…" her voice suddenly got softer as she started settling back. She stopped looking at him and started paying attention to the show. Before going silent, she said, "I think riding a motorcycle is kind of dreamy, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?"

Kisara bit her lip as she realized he didn't remember. Somehow, she felt her stomach sink a little at the thought that he had forgotten their escapade overseas. She shook her head and replied, "Nothing. Nevermind...um, it's just...it's super intense to be dueling and simultaneously controlling a motorcycle in the show. You'll see!"

Kaiba nodded his head and concerned himself with watching the show. Sometime towards the end of the first episode, something ate the back of his mind. He felt like he was supposed to recall something. Kaiba suddenly asked, "So why does Seiyu still put up with Spade Salta?"

"Well, see, when they were kids…."

The next two hours were spent with them chatting more than watching. Kisara went out her way to explain some background information and theories, whereas Kaiba was hellbent on pointing out every dueling fallacy and complained about how impractical speed duels were. She truthfully found joy in his sarcastic and rather cynical comments about the show, as everyone else she knew who watched the same show usually raved about everything. However, he got to a point when he was a tad too critical that she had to defend the show, insisting that the plot and characterization were strong enough to overarch the dueling.

"Then why does this show need dueling?" Kaiba argued as he gave one dismal huff, "If the drama is so good, then it can do without the motorcycles and dueling. Hell it can do without just the motorcycles!"

"The plot is in the dueling too!" Kisara exclaimed as she look toward him. Her face and tone were dead serious as she continued, "And the motorcycles! The dynamic between trying to strategize your next move and trying to keep yourself from flying off your ass is well-written and cleverly filmed. I know it's not super realistic in terms of duel rules, but you gotta think that the writers are trying to make them more symbolic than accurate for plot!"

Kaiba look away from the screen and completely faced her as he returned, "What is the symbolism behind summoning a _watapon_? Elaborate."

"That's just one turn! Think of the big picture. What did it mean for Spade Salta to try and end the duel by making both him and Narly lose?"

"It means he's brain dead!"

"No, it means that he loves her!"

With that, Kisara realized that she was unbelievably close to Kaiba. Their argument was intense to the point they had edged their faces closer. He looked pretty peeved as he stared her down, only moving slightly when hers did first. In a trance-like manner, her eyes drifted down, away from his eyes and onto his lips. She slowly explained, "And that's really significant for his character…because all along he's been portrayed as being this selfish and arrogant asshole. But then the most unexpected woman, someone who you wouldn't think would fit his caliber, manages to worm her way into his heart. She stood by him this entire time, but he realizes too late how much she mattered once she turned evil. He has to save the world by defeating her in a death match, so he decides to take himself down too because he can't live in a world without her."

"That's literally the most cliché romance plot that I've heard," Kaiba blurted. He wasn't a fool when noticing where her eyes wandered. Did he have something in his teeth? "Dying for someone isn't romantic in the least. It's a tragedy that's romanticized to a sick degree by idealists like you."

"Don't we all have someone we'd die for?" Kisara softly asked as her eyes returned to his, "I never said it was exclusively romantic. We can die for anybody we care about, Kaiba. I think even you have that someone."

"I don't-" Kaiba stopped himself from disagreeing. He would have been gravely mistaken to claim that he had would never die for anyone - not while his brother was still breathing. At that moment, it was his turn to realize how close he was to her.

"Romance and love don't always coexist. Dying for someone…" Kisara drifted off, her eyesight getting hazy as the line between his lips started disappearing, "is some form of love. Not necessarily romantic, but it's love."

"Are you speaking from experience or something? Did you die recently?" Kaiba spat out, completely forgetting for a moment that she out of anyone he knew _could_ possibly attest to his questions.

"Sometimes I feel like I've died for someone already."

Kaiba analyzed her current expression a bit more. She was loopy and suddenly looked a bit sad. Her eyelids looked heavy as they struggled to keep awake. By some sleight of words, they had managed to turn a conversation about a card game drama into their personal lives, past and present.

"I don't think that someone was worth dying for," he mumbled.

Kisara would've said more, if not for the sudden pain flaring in her head. She backed away from Kaiba, slamming her back against the arm of the loveseat on her side. She placed both her hands on the side of her head in a panicked rush and bent her knees up. Her breathing increased in both rate and volume, and her world started blanking out in one.

She was eventually able to make out one word from Kaiba.

 _Ambulance._

"DON'T!" Kisara screamed at the top of her lungs as her eyes flew wide open and they met the perplexed gaze. She had never seen Kaiba look so paralyzed in the moment. It was like she could see a trace of fear on his face. One hand with his cellphone was held up to his ear.

"She's unstable," Kaiba stated seriously, his hand not budging as he continued speaking to the operator.

"I said don't!" Kisara maintained the same crass volume. In a fit of panic, one leg of hers shot forward and slammed Kaiba's side _hard_.

" _Shit_ ," Kaiba choked underneath his breath as he felt the impact. He immediately hung up and shoved his phone into his pants pocket. He turned towards her and lunged forward, trapping her in between him as he grasped the arm of the loveseat. He leaned close to her sputtering face as he gently asked, "What do you want me to do then? Watch you have another panic episode?"

"Y-you d-don't h-have t-to d-do a-anything," her teeth chattered as she tried her best to answer. In one exasperated breath, she begged, "N-no...no hospital. _Please._ "

"Amano…"

" _Please_ ," she barely uttered as her eyes shut.

Kaiba couldn't believe he was bending to her will. He let go and stood up. Shortly after, he lowered himself and placed his arms underneath her body, heaving upwards. He wouldn't acknowledge it at the time, but there was fear consuming his insides.

Taking her to bed was as easy as the other two times he had carried her. Light and with no hassle. This time, however, she was conscious and stared at him the entire time, much to his chagrin as he continually ignored her. She didn't fight at all and didn't voice opposition, so he didn't care to reason his actions.

Her room was tiny, and was messier than he had anticipated. For someone who tried to appear orderly and regained, her room said otherwise. Clothes were strewn on the floor and her desk was a mess of books and makeup. Being an organized person at heart, it hurt his eyes to gaze upon such chaos. Her bed was small too, or maybe it was normal for one person, and he was simply used to hogging a bed fit for numerous.

Kaiba laid her gently onto her bed, to which Kisara finally scrambled to sit up and grasped his wrist when he stood straight. Her eyes were pitiful as she hoarsely voiced, "Thank you...and um, I'm sorry about your side. I don't know what went over me."

Kaiba squinted down at her and scrutinized everything he knew about her. There still wasn't a lot. She was just a mental mess now and putting up with it scared him. It scared him that he actually wanted to know her psychology and her everything. It scared him that the deepest part of him wanted to join her...or something like that.

And that was why all he could voice was "good night" as he tugged his arm away. Kisara didn't blink when he chose to leave her. He had put up with her past his limit, and she wouldn't be hurt. Whatever wants she had could die as she silently settled into her bed.

The moment Kaiba made it to her bedroom door while exiting was when he heard the front door click.

Absolute _terror_ exploded in his stomach, enough to make him nauseous. Fortunately, he had swiftly shut her door, promptly locking it. Kaiba still had one hand on the door knob as he slowly reversed himself toward Kisara in bed. Her window had the blinds open for the city lights and lightning, so he could see her equally appalled expression. She sat up and placed a hand over her mouth in fear. Neither one could believe the situation they found themselves in.

"I'm _so sorry_ that the night had to end so early because of Joey."

They could hear Serenity groan in frustration.

"Totally fine. It's a good thing that Seto wasn't there...or it would've ended with the cops."

That sounded like Mokuba.

"Would your brother _really_ kill him for vomiting all over the couch?"

Kaiba bit his tongue to prevent himself from screaming "YES!" It didn't help that Kisara was trying her best not to laugh hysterically, as quiet snorts escaped her muffled mouth.

"Nah...He won't acknowledge it, but I think he tolerates Joey for my sake. Still, it's a good thing he'll never know since Mai knew a thing or two about cleaning up after him. What's more important is that Joey gets to rest up at home."

"He does work hard...the night wouldn't have had to end early if Yugi was fine with being a third wheel when those two left, haha."

"Who said it has to? Let's keep watching _Duel Monsters and Motorcycles_! It's airing _all night_!"

"So you're going to stay here _all night?_ "

"Sure. Let's stay up as late as we can and pass out while watching it!"

" _All night_ it is!"

Kaiba slowly backed away from the door. He was in real trouble. He avoided Kisara's gaze as he silently scurried over towards her window. It was still storming outside and their apartment was on the second floor, but he was pretty good at escaping narrow, almost impossible situations. Hell, he could clearly remember trumping two of Maximillion Pegasus' goons by jumping off a cliff. If he could do that then, he could figure something out now.

His fingers started unlocking her window, but he soon felt a sharp tug on one arm. He was forced to meet Kisara's shocked gaze from the side.

"Kaiba, what the fuck?!" Kisara harshly whispered as her other hand persuaded his other from the window, "Are you insane?!"

"Not insane enough to stay here! You heard them!" Kaiba matched her whispered volume and maintained the same level of intensity. He tugged his arms back and went back to lifting her window. Before he knew it, he felt her arms encompass his stomach as she reeled herself into his back. His face grew warm, but he really didn't want to be held back. Of all the times she could hug him from behind, this wasn't the least bit appropriate.

It seemed like the more he pulled forward, the tighter she latched onto him. She replied, "Please don't. I'm literally going to continue clinging onto you if your stupid self parkours your way out!"

Kaiba could barely breathe. She was doing a good job of _suffocating_ him. Annoyed he briskly twisted his body, causing her to let go temporarily. He faced her and found himself cupping her face when he really meant to hold her shoulders. Her arms seemed intent on preventing him from flying out the window, as she found herself hugging him from the front. Her body had pressed against his, as Kaiba leaned against the wall of the window. Only her face was detached from his body as she stared up at him doe-eyed.

Her cheeks were _so_ soft underneath his fingertips. Both realized their position and cleared their throats as they removed themselves from one another.

Kaiba asked, "And what do _you_ suggest? Do you know how bad this situation looks if I just waltz out there from your bedroom? When those two are happily in the living room?"

"Then don't leave."

"I can't stay."

"I'm not stopping you. I'll let you take my bed, and I'll sleep on the floor," she seriously suggested, "You can leave peacefully...and in one piece no less, tomorrow morning."

"Are _you_ insane?" Kaiba mocked her, "You think I'm seriously going to let you sleep on the _floor_ after what happened?"

"Like that's more insane than jumping out in the middle of a storm," Kisara scoffed, "I'm not letting you sleep on the floor either. You're a guest."

"This isn't the time for home etiquette, Amano," he sarcastically argued, "I'll happily take the floor. Hell, I'll take sleeping on your desk too since I fall asleep in my study half the time at home."

"That's sad."

"That's normal."

"That's why it's sad."

Kaiba sighed in frustration. He wasn't getting anywhere with her. He briefly proposed, "It's the floor or the window."

She stepped back and crossed her arms, cocking her head to the side. She really didn't like the idea of having someone sleeping on her floor. She arched one eyebrow and teased, "What about the bed...with me?"

"You're ridiculous," he flatly said.

"Ouch," Kisara chuckled, "You might be the first man to reject sleeping with me."

"Gladly."

"The floor it is," she decided. Kisara turned around and walked toward her bed, gathering her blanket and pillow. As she spread her blanket across the floor, she glanced up to catch Kaiba undress his suit jacket. It wasn't like the first time she had seen someone do the same action, but in her head, she thought it was kind of attractive in the darkness of the room, with only the moonlight highlighting his body.

And then he looked dead straight towards her frozen self. He looked down towards her, as she was crouching to even out the blanket and he continued standing. Those fingers of his laced around his tie and untangled the hold on his neck. A satisfying snap occurred when he efficiently and hurriedly tore it away from him. At that moment, she thought he discerned her like a predator to prey, and it was oddly attractive.

Kisara heard herself gulp.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing's wrong. Nothing at all," she weakly made out as she hurriedly stood up and sat on the edge of her bed. She continued to blankly watch him as he settled onto the floor. There _was_ something wrong.

"Night."

"Night."

It was the most awkward exchange shared in between them, but it wasn't because of their one-word farewell. Rather, both had entertained more inappropriate ideas that night about each other that it equally drove them mad.

It was the exact reason why Kaiba had quickly refused her, and why Kisara had jokingly offered him in the first place.

Kisara returned to laying in her bed without her blanket to hide herself from Kaiba. She lay on her side, facing away from his direction. It was too soon for any other development when she barely had time to recover from the last. She figured that she only entertained intimacy with Kaiba simply because she craved attention immediately after her recent break up. She thought herself pathetic for being weak-willed from seeking physical comfort so soon. It didn't help that she was even more disturbed by remnants of Reo. Her face buried itself into her bed, desperate to sleep.

Kaiba really wasn't used to sleeping on a hard floor. In truth, he only passed out on a desk when work was extremely tiring. The times he willingly went to sleep, he always had a bed to lay on. He figured that he wasn't going to sleep until time achingly passed by and his mental state deteriorated. It wouldn't happen soon because he was on an uncomfortable high of mixed feelings regarding Kisara and the potential of their future relations. The fact that he had the nerve to think about her when she was right there was destroying him.

Her tossing and turning wasn't any help for his light sleeper tendencies. Kaiba was used to sleeping in absolute silence, whether it was in his bedroom or office. He had enough of it as he annoyedly blared in a snippy, hushed tone, "Go to _fucking_ sleep."

Kisara cursed underneath her breath. She didn't mean to annoy him. Typically, she was a heavy sleeper, but there were too many thoughts exploding in her head that she was essentially restless. She peeked over the edge of her bed and down toward Kaiba staring directly back at her on his side. She nervously said, "I have a lot of thoughts keeping me up...sorry."

"Could you do that without making noise?"

"...I'll try."

Kaiba huffed and reversed sides, clenching his eyes shut and praying to just hit unconsciousness. It nearly worked for another half hour, but Kisara suddenly made rustling noises again that sleeping was futile. His eyes shot open, and he briskly stood up. He picked up the pillow she had given him, and he smacked her from atop.

Kisara sat straight up and glared at her attacker. She glumly commented, "You really are a manchild."

He ignored her lighthearted insult and proposed, "I can't sleep with your noise."

"I'm really sorry...I just can't shake things off my mind."

"You can by talking," Kaiba firmly insisted. He added, "I have nothing else to do. If it helps you sleep, it'll help me too."

Kisara bit her lip. She thought she was fine with him just being there, but she grew to realize that she sought an emotional connection. She asked, "Would you like to sit?" She edged to the opposite side, making room for him.

Inexplicable expressions crossed his face. She thought he would refuse, but much to her surprise, he sat down at the edge, not really taking much of the space she had freed for him. Kisara returned to laying down and faced his back.

"What did he do to you?"

She was silent.

"It's bothering you isn't it?"

Kisara felt her breathing get heavy as she recalled her showdown with Reo. She could still feel his sinister contact across her body. She slightly shuddered and started hugging herself.

"Did he touch you?"

She slowly answered, "Not...not anything bad, really."

"Was it against your will?"

"Yes, but," Kisara softly argued, "It wasn't sexual. We were in a public space."

"It doesn't need to be sexual to be wrong, Amano. What did he do?"

"I fended him off in the end."

Kaiba sighed and twisted his neck to look at her laying down. She didn't even look back but simply stared into dead space, as if she were reliving the moment. He remarked, "That's good to know, but if that were enough, you wouldn't be up. That doesn't erase his influence, and you're wrong to wish yourself fine by coping alone."

Kisara pointed out, "You're one to talk."

"This isn't about me."

He was so patient it hurt her. It convinced her enough for her to start confessing, "He pulled me in. Wrapped his fingers around my neck like he owned me. And then, he forced himself on me. But it was just a kiss...just a kiss."

Kaiba would've had said something, but he noticed that she had more to say. She transitioned to lying on her back, and held a forearm above her eyes. Her mouth moved in small increments as she continued, "It's not the first time a guy has done something like that to me, so I should be numb, right? You'd think I'd be used to a little force."

"I don't think that at all," Kaiba quickly stated. He was _horrified_. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. She sounded absolutely _sick._ She had implied a pattern of behavior that was clearly disturbing, and for some reason, it sounded like she felt she deserved such treatment.

Her lips curled into a small smile as she ignored him, "He called me a slut. It's fitting. You know, I've been around a lot, slept around. Most of the time, it's just to keep them around because I want to convince myself that there's some type of love, so when they ask for too much, I'm obligated to return what I've let them think of me. I'm pathetic like that. Don't you think so too?"

"...Kisara," he didn't realize her first name slipped from his tongue. He looked away as he said, "I don't look down on you for seeking approval, but I need you to understand that neither you or your shortcomings are responsible for the abuse that others put on you."

"I don't know why I'm talking to you about this. You're the last person I expect to understand me. You can chastise me, but it's hard to believe your words when I'm sure you've never experienced what I've been through. You're successful. You're rich. You're not someone I see seeking approval. If anything, you're the person people look up to in order to be approved of."

"My success and money doesn't discredit the shit I've had to fight to get to the top. I might laugh at a shameless ass kisser once in a while, but I'm no stranger to once being the same. I don't sleep around for approval, but I've killed myself in more ways than one just to satisfy that one person."

Kisara removed her arm from her face and turned back to her side towards his back. She observed the way he gripped the sheets of her bed with a tight curl of his fists. She kept quiet, realizing that at that moment, she was listening to a part of Seto Kaiba that she wasn't sure anybody else knew.

"And you have a right to still feel awful even if you managed to fight any man off. Even if they were one day to die...even if you manage to kill them yourself, and even if you're filthy rich and successful, it doesn't erase what they've left on you. You just have to learn one day that you weren't responsible for their actions. So, Kisara," he called her by her first name with confidence again, "Hamada...and the men you've been with, they were in the wrong the moment they forced themselves on you. It doesn't matter how much you gave them before. It's lying to tell yourself that what they do is fine by faulting yourself. It only feels okay to reason them because you don't want to acknowledge that they took advantage of you, which isn't inherently your fault. It's fine to still feel hurt...but I suppose you can take that with a grain of salt. I know it took _me_ years to figure it out, and I can't even accept it now."

His voice was sure and careful, as it normally was, but the implications of his words seemed strung with a sense of emotional pain unlike anything he had revealed to her. One hand of hers reached out toward one tightened, veined fist of his, and laid itself on top. She gently wrapped her hand around his fist and lightly squeezed it.

His hand unfurled and unexpectedly exposed itself to accept her hand. He had it in him to return some pressure, feeling every line on her hand as if it were the first he held. They felt each other's hands for a good minute, basking in the warmth of each other's flesh.

"Sleep with me," Kisara quietly offered, serious this time.

His hand left hers, and she felt disappointment strike her heart.

She was soon proven wrong when she realized he had left the bed to gather her blanket from the floor. Meanwhile, Kisara pulled the pillow he had thrown at her and placed it underneath her head. He returned and eventually settled to lie next to her while overthrowing the blanket above them, making sure that it covered her first before him. Doing so, his arm and a part of his body overlapped hers temporarily.

Kisara nervously said, "You have a good heart, Seto."

He froze. She was partially underneath him as he looked down. They locked eyes. He didn't know how to respond to that.

She wistfully elaborated, "I don't know why people say you've got a cold one. It's always been warm, hasn't it? You just don't care to show it off." Her fingers crept up to touch the side of his face. It felt like she had done that before in another time and place, but this was not that time and place. Her hand paused, and she snapped out of her fantasy. Kisara lowered her hand in embarrassment, from both her attempted action and her words. She started reversing onto her side, away from him.

Before she could, however, she found herself entwined in his arms. By raw instinct, she reciprocated his gesture by settling deep into the crook of his neck, and she managed to wrap one arm around him, rubbing a part of his shirt in between her thumb and index finger, as if to confirm he was real. His chin barely grazed the top of her head. He knew that he didn't want to face her. Neither did he have the want to reverse sides. So, he had performed the unspeakable and pulled her into him, where he, in the recesses of his heart and mind, believed she rightfully belonged. He must have been more sleep-deprived than the usual, but he did not back away on his hold. For the time being, he didn't want to let her go and all that she could mean to him.

"We do not speak of this in the future. Understand?"

Kisara nodded and inexplicably heeded his wish. Her heart fluttered by a thousand paces as she closed her eyes. What felt right was brandished with bittersweet nuances. She could question the moment a million times over, but she didn't have to because _he didn't care to_. He took his leap of faith, and she would gladly catch him, even if it would last for one night because there was hope that he could finally be more Seto than Kaiba.

* * *

Last night's storm brought upon Domino City a cloudless sunny morning. The winds had transitioned to the speed of slight breezes, and the chaos of it all died down. Mokuba had left Serenity the morning of, but he only left to gather ingredients for a whole morning of making breakfast together, and perhaps a whole day of baking sweets. He excitedly leapt up the stairs of the apartment complex, and once he had reached the front of her apartment, the door conveniently flew right open the moment he got there.

"Okay, Serenity, we're gonna try that crepe cake recipe now that I -" Mokuba talked while glancing at his grocery bags in hand before finally looking at who opened the door.

A blood curdling scream caused Serenity to hustle out her the bathroom with her hair still wet and her body wrapped in a towel. She worriedly shouted, "Kisara, are you ok?!"

"That wasn't me," Kisara weakly answered as her roommate came flying into the living room.

Serenity raised an eyebrow and looked at the person next to Kisara. She said, "Oh hey, Kaiba. Did Mokuba drag you here?" Her eyes then finally landed on Mokuba, who appeared as if he had seen a ghost. Her boyfriend had left earlier to pick some groceries for a little breakfast and baking they had planned to make together. Serenity furrowed her brows as she noticed that he didn't have any groceries on hand, rather, they were all over the floor of the balcony. Bags of flour, sugar, and a carton of milk were destroyed from impact. "What's gotten into you?" Serenity asked as she walked over and crouched down to salvage whatever she could.

Mokuba's jaw went unhinged as he observed his brother and Kisara posing awkwardly next to one another in the apartment. Seto eventually broke the silence as he said, "Mokuba. I need you to calm down. It's not what it looks like. I can explain what's - "

"Oh no," Mokuba finally said something as he cut Seto off, "No, no, no, no, no, no. You don't need to explain _anything_."

Serenity slowly stood up with the bags in hand and turned toward Seto and Kisara as she stood next to Mokuba. She was confused by the conflict that seemed to emerge. Now that she took a closer look, she thought it was odd how Kaiba had on the same clothes from last night when he left his apartment for work. His shirt was a wrinkled mess, his tie hung unstrung around his neck, and his pants were the same no less. She looked down to notice that he had on the pair dress shoes she had noticed last night at the front. Serenity only figured that Kisara's boyfriend had slept over after their supposed date last night, and things had settled between them. She looked at Kisara and noticed her typical morning bedhead and her sleepwear. The final nail in the coffin was that her roommate carried Seto's suit jacket neatly folded in her arms.

"Oh my god," Serenity whispered underneath her breath.

It was her turn to drop the bags.

* * *

 **Author's Note (more like a ramble sorry):** I feel like this is a bit of a boring chapter. Lots of dialogue, haha. I struggled with it too because I wanted to touch deeper subjects, but I didn't want to expose too much because a lot is going on right now. I meant to write this out fast but I had to rethink about a lot of segments OTL I promise more fluff, it's just that I'm having such a headache tip-toeing with Kaiba's past and all.

And I'm so cautious with Kaiba showing affection that he and Kisara _weren't_ supposed to sleep together. Like I was really going to leave him on the dingy ass floor. And then I decided why the hell not to let him join her, but it wouldn't be close and they would just sleep facing away from each other. THEN LAST MINUTE, I decided that the atmosphere was right...hopefully.

Sorry if the title of this chapter is clickbait. It wasn't suppose to mean a kiss between Kaiba and Kisara, haha! Thanks for reading!

 **Review Responses:**

 **WBAD:** Oh no, I really don't want you to feel like you're obligated to write me a review every chapter! I love hearing your thoughts whenever, and I definitely write for the story rather than reviews. I DID dish chapters fast until I got to this one and I had like a brain fart. I'm on break from school so I have a good amount of time on my hands, that's why ^^

Agh, every interaction I write with them so far has to be so freaking subtle when Kaiba tries to both show and hide his interests. I'm so used to this that I think it's going to be weird when I make him more open in the future LOL I wasn't going to make this story super dramatic, but it turned out that way oh no. I try to balance it out with lighthearted situations and some hopefully humorous portions.

Secondhand guilt feels awful, yeah. I wanted to communicate that with Kisara so I'm glad it made sense. Like she's not guilty but isn't one hundred percent innocent, which is unfortunate and she really feels that. I didn't want Reo's wife to be a hated character, aghh. I guess I'm a big fan of women supporting other women

Duel Monsters and Motorcycles is almost 5Ds LOL I know it like breaks the laws of time, but I imagine the show to just be this awesome and popular drama in the universe of this story. It has like a different plot line and everything, and synchro summoning isn't involved. It just has a really watered down version of speed duels LOL Some idiot in the future will take inspiration and thus create actual card games on motorcycles :)

I'm truthfully happy about getting rid of Reo. By the end of that chapter, I was like oof, finally. Definitely wanted to write his last descriptions with a bang though, so I chose to make it kind of disturbing. Literally the last thing Kisara wanted to hear was Kaiba in their conversation LOL I don't think I stated it in the last chapter, but she was probably to pissed at him to even care about Kaiba.

I made that ending scene so extra when I think back about it, but I figured that since I haven't really wrote super fluff between them, that I could for this scene. I feel like I got carried away with it, but I am satisfied. Yeah, as much as I like the "oh our love stretches across the bonds of time" sort of deal, I want to hammer in the concept that they're not obligated to be with each other. It should be more natural I guess? Like there's an evident attraction, but they shouldn't be forced to follow it. But once they do, it's all rainbows and unicorns :)

Well I love youuuu for writing such in-depth reviews, wow! Real life is definitely more important than fanfiction LOL This story will always be here for you to enjoy ^_^

 **Juella:** Oh my god I spat my drink when I saw you said "Seto can slide into Kisara's dms." OH NO that is literally what the situation looks like now LOL Yes, yes, I really did try pretty hard on that last scene. Like I said, I also feel like I got carried away with it, but I really feel like Kaiba and Kisara deserve it with the crap I put them through. Like there needs to be more fluff. Yeah, I'm pretty wary about the amount of dialogue I write out, but this is fanfiction so I won't take it too seriously haha. I definitely wanted to even it out with the lack of dialogue in the last scene of the last chapter.

Oh English class...the class where you try to find deep meanings in the most subtle of texts LOL As long as you feel some type of way from my writing, that's good enough for me LOL

 **Chaotic Skunk Demon:** Yeah, it's really rough. I didn't want to treat it lightly :,)

 **itxprincessxlala:** Hmm...maybe Reo won't be involved directly in the future, but who knows hehe. He could've done a lot worse, yeah, but I think he did enough.

 **Bleach power:** Ah, super happy you think the ending was sweet and a good write. Hehe, good job on catching that he does sort of drop everything for her. Oh yes, definitely more Yugi in the future! I love him so much, and he will get some sort of development.

 **Ai Star:** It definitely was. She'll recover though :)


	21. Chapter 20: The Letter

Mokuba couldn't look at his brother anymore. He took one step back, and spitefully declared, "You're a joke, Seto."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Seto sounded quite annoyed, "If you would just listen to me-"

"I think I've done that enough times to _not_ be lied to," Mokuba pointed out in aggravation. He whirled around and started making his away down the stairs, away from the mess he just discovered.

"Mokuba!" Seto grit his teeth and started to immediately follow his little brother. Before he did, he turned toward Kisara and briefly mentioned, "I'll text you."

With that, he had left.

Everything went by so fast, it was almost unreal. Kisara was still holding onto his suit jacket, and the moment she noticed, she yelled out, "Seto!"

But he was too far gone to hear her.

" _Seto_?" Her friend repeated in disbelief.

Serenity had her arms crossed. Despite being only in a bath towel, she managed to look pretty intimidating. Kisara felt as if she could die right on the door from her friend's laser beam glare. She laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck. "It's a long story…."

* * *

"I can't believe I have to talk about this crap," Seto muttered quite audibly, clearly expressing his discomfort. He took in one breath and sighed, eventually explaining, "Look. She and I...we go way back. Further than anyone rational would believe."

Mokuba had insisted they drive all the way to the opposite side of the city. It was a quieter side, where sky piercing towers died off and barely transitioned into normal buildings. They sat in the outside area of a convenience store they held close to heart.

"Does this have to do with what Joey said about "past-lives" over that one dinner?"

Seto did a double-take. He scrunched his face and retorted, "Don't tell me your head actually remembered something like that."

"So he was right?" Mokuba shook his head and took another swig of his ramune. He rubbed his chin and remarked, "Can't say I find it impossible. A lot more unimaginable things happened back when the world needed saving through card games. Sharing past lives and meeting again, huh? That's pretty romantic."

"I disagree."

"That's just your thinking. Anybody else would think it is."

"If you call being pressured to follow a predestined path romantic, sure," Seto scowled. He was quick to change back to a neutral expression. His eyes locked onto his beer, idly admiring the metallic sheen of the container. He added, "I don't like feeling controlled. You know that, and I have a feeling she doesn't either."

"You two must really hate sleeping together, then," Mokuba sarcastically remarked as he slightly rolled his eyes. He narrowed his eyes as he saw Seto's mouth start to budge. Mokuba quickly said, "Don't tell me you slept on the floor or something. Be honest with me for once."

"I've been the most honest with you, Mokuba."

"Your "most honest" isn't very honest, is it?" Mokuba shook his head in disbelief as he explained, "I know I seem overdramatic...but honestly, Seto, I'm getting sick of the whole me having to be transparent, and you _never_ are. It wasn't a while ago you tried shouldering all those corporate allegations by yourself."

"My relationship with a woman is nothing compared to _those_ issues. What is your point?" Seto grit his teeth as Mokuba brought up a rather sensitive subject. He was already past that and didn't want it coming back for him.

"My point is that you hide and keep everything to yourself. Kisara isn't a court case, but I still want to be involved. Like it sucks I just found out a week before I'm leaving. You literally have to be _caught_ before telling me something important. Seriously, you don't just come out of a girl's bedroom with your jacket off and your clothes wrinkled like that without having done something!"

"Contrary to what it seems, we are certainly not dating. We are not regularly sleeping together in _that_ way. We simply shared the same bed. She was...distressed over a situation that I have no right to disclose. I happen to be the only one who knows of this issue, so I went over to be of some help," Seto insisted.

Mokuba couldn't believe Seto had completely ignored his point about being open. He sighed and asked, "What is she to you then? That's some _special_ help you gave her."

Seto understood his limited knowledge. He was fully aware that he couldn't wrap his head around Mokuba's question. His head ached from the fact that they were even sharing a conversation like this. However, he was at the end of his wits with his little brother. Eventually, Seto allowed himself to explain, " _I don't know_. I mean that in the most honest way. I can't define our relationship very easily. One minute I think she actually means something to me, and the next I think I only care because we're tied by some unfortunate history that neither of us asked for. I _know_ I'm not doing a very good job. I _know_ you want a clear, straight answer, but that's _not_ going to happen when it comes to her."

Mokuba's eyes softened. He knew his brother the best. As much as Seto hid certain things quite well, he knew how genuine he was. If he asked about anybody else, he knew that his older brother would have a concise answer. Seto was quite categorical in his thinking about others, but Kisara had unexpectedly become an exception. He suddenly grinned and said, "That's fine. I won't insist that you two are dating. Though, I'm happy for you, Seto."

"Why? I sound like a lunatic."

"It's _good_ lunacy. Let's go. I'm done interrogating you. Also, I reserve the right to continue making fun of you and your immense denial until the day I leave."

Mokuba chugged down the last of his carbonated drink, releasing a satisfying "ahh" sound as the aftertaste of sweet melon overstayed. He stood up and walked towards a recycling can, tossing his glass in. Seto followed his actions with his drink, and the two men ventured along the sidewalk. Mokuba glanced over his side toward the row of different stores, from electronics to clothes. He narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of multiple Yugi Mutos displayed on television screens of various sizes behind the window of one store. He abruptly paused and stayed behind to observe.

Self noticed Mokuba's interruption and looked back. He followed his line of sight toward a broadcast of Yugi selling Yu-Gi-O's cereal.

"One last thing, Seto," Mokuba addressed, "I understand you two _aren't_ dating, but are you really fine with Kisara living with Yugi when Serenity leaves?"

"...She's living with _who_?"

* * *

Monday noon, Yugi rubbed his under-eyes with such intensity that he hoped it would also wear off his exhaustion. It was futile, of course. He lugged his takeout bag of food as he entered his boss' office.

"WHOA!"

Yugi exclaimed as he immediately ducked from an unexpected volly of laser beams ricocheting from what appeared to be a dragon-shaped mini jet. His eyes were wide, realizing that the toy-sized jet decided to target his forehead with an ominous red beam.

"Kaiba, it's just me!"

One hand of Seto's clenched around the remote that controlled the jet. His thumb played around with the button that would instruct the dragon to attack Yugi directly this time. He said, "I know."

"...Okay. Then call off your weird dragon hovercraft drone thing."

Seto's other hand rubbed his chin. Eventually, he put his remote down and raised both his arms. A brilliant _smile_ erupted on his face, to which Yugi was even more confused about. Seto replied, "I apologize. I was just testing a new model."

"Yeah…alright," Yugi slowly trailed as he stood up and sat himself in front of Seto's desk. It was a normal occurence that they had lunch at Seto's office now. Not only did the two enjoy a cup of coffee and play one round of a game each morning, they slowly began eating lunch together when Seto didn't have to go on a lunch meeting with his fellow associates. Yugi set his lunch bag down, making his way through the paper and pulling out his bento box. As he was beginning to eat, his eyes slowly met Seto's. He noticed that the other man was staring at him intently, which was incredibly uncharacteristic. Normally, Seto would have his eyes glued onto his laptop or some paperwork. Even when they exchanged words, he never bothered to study Yugi.

Yugi furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong."

"Ok…" Yugi crossed his arms, "First, you assault me with your dragon jet. Then, you actually smile, which by the way, I've never seen you do so widely. Now, you're analyzing my every movement. Did I offend you in some way?"

"It's really nothing," Seto insisted as he rubbed his forehead. He waved his hand in continued assurance as he explained, "I'm just curious how your project has been going. Aside from the reports I've received."

"Hmm," Yugi squinted his eyes. He didn't believe him. However, he simply nodded his head and said, "There isn't anything remarkable to state beyond anything I've sent you. Let's see, there _is_ this issue I have with one programmer - "

"When were you going to tell me?!"

Yugi blinked repeatedly with his mouth clamped shut. Seto had burst in sudden urgency that it threw the tricolor haired man back. He licked his lips and opened his mouth. Nothing came out for a bit. Seto's behavior was more odd than usual. He eventually answered, "Um. I didn't think it was that important. It's more of a personality conflict instead of a performance issue - "

"That's not what I, " Seto interrupted the other man again. He breathed out in frustration before admitting, "That's not what I meant. I mean...when were you going to tell me about _her_?"

" _Who_?"

"You know who."

"Her who?"

" _Kisara_ , damn it, do you lack awareness?"

Yugi couldn't for the life of him understand what Seto was referring to. He hadn't even touched his food. He replayed the past couple moments with Seto again, but he couldn't seem to grasp the issue at hand. Instead, he chose to focus on another topic. He leaned forward in his seat and posed, "Hold up. Did you just refer to Amano as Kisara?"

"Do not change the subject."

"I don't even understand the topic."

"The topic is," Seto bit his tongue. He wasn't supposed to be this bothered. It wasn't his business who Kisara chose her living arrangements with. He let out, "Were you going to bother telling me that she's living with you?"

"Oh!" Yugi's eyes brightened as the situation finally became clear, "Um, I guess it slipped my mind. I mean, it's not really official. She just needs a place to stay temporarily before she actually has the money to live on her own."

"And nobody else she knows offered?"

"I think that one really handsome co-worker of hers has."

"I meant anybody _female_ ," Seto said with a tinge of annoyance.

Yugi shook his head as he came to a blank. "Does that matter? Wait, why do you care?"

"It's not that I care," Seto denied, "It's just weird."

"I think you wouldn't care if it were anybody else living with me," Yugi teased, "Don't worry. My mom and grandpa are there too, so it's not like I could get away with anything that happens between me and Kisara."

"Of course. It's not like anything could."

Yugi understood that he was completely capable of stringing him along. He smirked and played the conversation to his advantage, "Although, my mom was quite happy at the idea of a potential daughter-in-law. Grandpa mentioned something about having grandkids before he coughed his last breath." He looked smugly toward Seto, who looked quite expressionless. Yugi had hoped he would evoke more explosive emotions out of the other man, but whatever he hoped fell short.

Seto was unsure if Yugi was baiting him or if what he said was truthful. The idea of Yugi and Kisara was insane. It was unlikely. At least, he would like to believe. Yugi was undoubtedly friendlier and admittedly a bit more charismatic. He had known Kisara longer than Seto ever did, and they shared a love for those idiotic puns he never could understand the point of. Furthermore, there had to be something there for Kisara to even entertain living with Yugi. Not to mention, he knew Yugi probably treated Kisara better and more consistently than he ever did. That last thought hit him the hardest.

"Whatever," was the odd faint type of response that came from Seto. The door to his office was opened by his secretary, who came in with his usual bought lunch.

As she laid the bag in front of him on his desk, Yugi nervously exclaimed, "It was a joke! A joke!"

Seto put an index finger up to his lips, as if to silence Yugi until his secretary left. When she did, Yugi resumed, "A joke...I mean they _did_ mention something along those lines but I'm not at all interested in Kisara! We're just friends, and we'd like to keep it that way."

"It's none of my business if you are, and I don't care if she shares the same sentiment."

"That was the most passive-aggressive statement I have ever heard from you," Yugi graciously pointed out, "and you're usually only aggressive."

"Are you implying that I'm bothered? That would be very petty of me."

Frustrated, Yugi relieved a huge sigh and pointed out, "Petty is your middle name."

"I don't have a middle name." Before Yugi could provide another snappish quip, Seto quickly added, "Look. I can't do anything about it anyways. Her decision."

Yugi nodded his head silently as he started eating. He couldn't help but wonder what to say next. The air between the two of them suddenly got awkward. For some reason, he felt terrible for not mentioning anything about it to the other man. He simply thought it wouldn't be right to share her business. However, he had a hunch that perhaps the two shared more with each other than either would let on.

"Um, crazy idea. Really far-fetched. But maybe she could live with you?"

Seto paused mid-bite. He slowly met Yugi's eyes, unsure of what series of emotions overwhelmed his head.

Yugi continued speaking nervously, "I mean...Mokuba's leaving. It'll be pretty lonely, right? There'll be a room for her and everything."

"No," Seto flatly disagreed.

Yugi raised both his eyebrows. He knew not to expect too much from Seto, but he was rather disappointed in his answer.

"My penthouse would be too much for her. Even if I were to say it's free of rent, I can't imagine her being comfortable with accepting the living space unless she paid the actual worth. Mind you, theoretically that would be _extremely_ inappropriate for her budget. She isn't stupid. She'd know if I undercharge her…and I certainly don't want her to feel indebted to me, anymore than she already does," Seto found himself going off on a tangent. He settled with, "That is, if I were to pitch such a stupid idea in the first place."

"But you're clearly uncomfortable with her living with me. It's obvious, don't bother denying it. Honestly I don't want to be in between-"

"We're _not_ dating, ok?" Seto angrily shut him off. He more calmly explained, "I can't say anything about the matter. Her choice."

"You really respect her, don't you?" Yugi softly stated.

"Something like that," Seto muttered.

At that moment, Yugi saw a bit of that denial that Seto had put up slightly crack. He only smiled and continued eating. The two eventually spoke of other ongoing issues, and the day was left as casual as the others.

* * *

The days leading up to Thursday were nonetheless normal. Hectic in comparison to the everyday Japanese salarymen, but nonetheless normal. It was nearing lunch time, and Seto expected Yugi to fly through the door any minute now. His secretary would arrive soon with his lunch, and the rest of his day would go on as any.

When his office door opened, Seto didn't even bother to glance up, choosing to finish a more pertinent situation on his laptop.

"Kaiba."

"You sound more femine than usual, Yugi - "

When he looked up, he saw neither Yugi or his secretary. He stopped typing, shut his laptop, and folded his hands together on his desk. It was Serenity Wheeler. She held what seemed to be a bento box. Seto cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me. I wasn't expecting you. I assume Mokuba let you through."

"Yeah," Serenity thinly smiled and set the bento box on his desk. She explained, "Um, this is for you. It's homecooked. Mokuba also told your secretary to cancel buying lunch, so you don't need to worry about that."

"Thank you," Seto awkwardly said as he edged the box closer to his side. He asked, "So what brings you here?" He motioned to the chair in front of him, where Yugi usually sat.

Serenity sat herself before explaining, "It's about Kisara."

 _Shit_ was the first word that popped in his head. Seto didn't know what on earth Serenity would have to discuss her with him. He could only theorize that Mokuba mentioned something about the whole "past lives" thing, and that if this conversation had anything to do with that, he would literally flip his desk over. He kept a calm and open face, but on the inside, he was bracing for the worst.

"I'm sure you've been informed that she's living with Yugi later," Serenity appeared hesitant to continue, "But...I'm uncomfortable with that."

 _Me too_ nearly escaped his mouth. Seto coolly responded, "I'm sure Kisara has her reasons."

"I mean, yes, it's cheap, and Yugi is a friend, but," Serenity paused to run her hand through her long hair, "It isn't Yugi I have an issue with. It's Kisara's security."

" _Security_?"

"She's been imagining things...again. Um, it's not my place to explain the depth of her issues. Recently, she's been hearing things and has expressed feeling like someone's watching her. I reassured her that it's all in her head."

"I've already proposed taking her to a doctor about a week after you and Mokuba leave. I'm quite aware of this."

"That's not the main problem," Serenity faintly argued, "I _thought_ it was all in her head until I received something weird at our doorstep. It was a letter, and honestly, it's quite rare to get _those_ nowadays. It wasn't even folded properly and slipped right through the crack of the front door. I read it before Kisara could, and it was…."

Serenity held a hand to her forehead as she rested her elbow against the arm of the chair.

"I have a water dispenser near the door, if you'd like any," Seto offered. He was about to get up until Serenity continued.

"It's fine! Um, it was really weird. The message was awfully simple."

"What was it?"

"It just said...your time is over," Serenity slowly pronounced, "and it was addressed to Kisara. It was just that in Japanese and on the bottom were these weird symbols. I know that it's probably nothing, but recently she's been feeling that someone has been stalking her or something. Maybe...maybe she isn't so paranoid. I-I think that it might just be a rabid fan, but those can be pretty frightening too. You've seen those stories in the news, right?"

Seto let some silence pervade. Was it fear that quelled in his stomach and made it churn? He looked down at his desk, to nothing but blank space. He eventually asked, "And how do you want me to play a part in this? Do you want me to hire a private investigator or something?"

"Nothing like that," Serenity denied. She explained, "It's just. I wouldn't be comfortable even considering this until I saw what happened Sunday morning. You know…"

He knew.

"I mean, Kisara said it was nothing, and I believe her. Don't worry, I understand you two aren't, um, together or anything. I just thought that you're closer to her now. Anyways, " Serenity shook her head, "I know this is huge of me to ask, but I was wondering if maybe she could live with you when I'm gone. Your place is a lot more secure than Yugi's, and it won't be for long! Just until Kisara earns enough and things like this die down! I know it sounds like I'm just using you as a connection through Mokuba, and I know that I'm not exactly...I'm not exactly someone that you'd approve of-"

"Where did you get that idea?"

Serenity stopped talking. She widened her eyes and opened and closed her mouth in surprise. She stammered, "E-excuse me? Uh...I-I just never got the impression that you liked me from the times we've seen each other...is all. Y-yeah…"

"Is that so," Seto let her words sink in. He supposed she was right. He never really bothered to get to know her, despite how much Mokuba insisted that he should. Frankly, he wasn't exactly the most welcoming of people, and he didn't care to be anything like that. He knew perfectly well that he avoided anything Serenity-related, and he certainly was unsure about her influence on his brother. He stated, "Well, you're correct. I _don't_ feel comfortable with you and Mokuba together. I don't approve of you."

"O-oh," Serenity could only make that one noise. She knew that the man in front of her was brutally honest, but it still hurt her to hear him say what she dreaded most. Her mouth opened to defend herself, but she found herself at a lost for words. She couldn't even meet his gaze as she found her eyes hurting and cast downwards to her lap. Her hands clenched one another in a tight embrace.

"...But that is largely due to my shortcomings."

Her head snapped upwards in confusion.

"Although I commend you for your achievements and aspirations to be a doctor, I've never separated you from your brother. I've been unfair in avoiding to learn about you, therefore you are still a stranger in my eyes. My discomfort is my own fault."

"Kaiba…" Serenity softly said.

"Someone suggested that I think _as_ Mokuba instead of _for_ him. In that light, I suppose you make him happy enough. You're certainly less of a headache than those other scandals of women he used to flounce around with. _She_ also," Seto lowly breathed, " _Fuck._ "

Serenity bit back a chuckle as she knew perfectly well who he was referring to.

"I mean, _they,_ " Seto continued, "also urged me to view you separate from your last name. They said little siblings hate being cast underneath their older siblings, and I understand that perfectly from Mokuba. You deserve my unbiased judgement, and it's unfortunate I only realized now. I assure you, I don't see you using me when asking out of concern for your friend."

"Kaiba, you don't know how much that means to me," Serenity warmly announced. Her face suddenly lit up, and from there, he could see that same idiotic glee the mutt often had. Seto scoffed softly, but it wasn't out of disdain. She added, "I am, truly, concerned for Kisara. She doesn't even know that I'm asking you about this. I think she'd be embarrassed, but I can't leave her when there's a possibility she could be safer. And I think...I think that you might even share the same concern?"

Seto avoided her eyes as he quietly said, "Maybe I do."

"So you'll consider it? You'll consider asking her? I'm not quite sure if she can pay you the rent for a penthouse, but I'm sure she can also pay you in being the best roommate ever! She cooks pretty well, she gives really nice massages after a long day of studying -"

"She loves throwing her clothes all over the floor," he added snidely.

"Ah...uh…." Serenity couldn't deny that, "But she only does that in her room?"

Seto knew Serenity was asking a huge favor, one that he was fighting over inside. The logical, domineering side of him knew he shouldn't entertain the idea of it. He had never lived with a woman, much less anyone but Mokuba. It would feel empty without him, however. Also, he couldn't get rid of his apparent worry, and the most regrettable part of him missed her with each passing day that he didn't see her since the night he held her close.

Since the scent of her head intoxicated his rationale and made him long to reach out and grasp that silky white, haunting hair.

Since feeling her soft breath back and forth beating against the thin skin of his neck and how that same breath occasionally came out her mouth where those lips of hers nearly grazed the same area.

Since when he opened his eyes, he could see that annoying face of hers peaceful for once and he reluctantly chose to extract himself from the frustrating indulgence that was always _that_ damn woman.

If she _lived_ with him, Seto would spend his days under the guise that he wouldn't be able to control himself, and he _always_ made sure he separated himself from tempting situations like those.

"It's not a good idea for her to live with me," he decidedly reasoned, "I think it will only complicate our relationship, and I don't have time for complicated relationships. Especially one in my home."

Serenity was half sure that he leaned toward agreement. She pondered over Seto's words, a bit confused by his rather vague thought. She asked, "I'm sorry if I'm overstepping my boundaries...but are you scared, Kaiba? She's going insane, you know. I hid that letter from her because I know it'll only make things worse and that she'll be more scared. The police think I'm making this up. They couldn't find footage of anyone slipping that paper underneath the door, but it _is_ real. Something is happening, and I'm really scared for her. Don't you think that...that her security is more important than something like relationship issues? I know that you don't _hate_ her."

Seto was slightly taken aback by Serenity's sudden sense of adamance. Her older brother's foolish stubbornness seemed to bleed through her. How annoying. He settled back in his chair, and his fingers barely opened the bento box. He bluntly stated, "I can provide her security. I can hire someone to watch her, but I can't let her live with me."

"She already feels like someone is watching over her...I don't think she'd like someone else doing the same," Serenity hesitantly argued.

"Well that's up for her to decide, isn't it?" Seto strongly stated, "Obviously I won't hire someone behind her back, but whether she feels safe with or without my offer of a guard will be up to her. There's no use weaseling around her. It'll only make her feel worse."

"If she says no…?"

"Then she'll live her life normally. With Yugi. Like you said, it's all in her head. That note is fairly harmless with no one to attribute from. I'm sure she'll be fine. I'll talk to her."

"I see," she concluded, "I guess I'm being overprotective. Thank you for you time and your offer."

Serenity took her purse off from her arm. She set it in her lap and looked at it with hesitation. In one quick motion, she whipped out a piece of paper and set it haphazardly on his desk. Seto could only discern that it was the letter. He understood that leaving such item was her last, silent attempt at turning his head the other way.

The woman bowed a bit after getting up. Midway through leaving his office, she suddenly turned back and mentioned, "It's not a bad thing to like someone, you know? All that complicated stuff...it's worth it with the right person. If anything, they're worth even more if you have to overthink about them often. Good-bye, Kaiba."

Serenity left with a small smile and left Seto to carefully unfurl the piece of paper. She was right. The letter was simple in its message, and there were weird symbols on the bottom right. It was like a signature, and worst of all, he recognized the symbols. They were hieroglyphics or at least resembled them.

He crushed the paper into a ball and chucked it into his trash can. Some minutes passed by as he continued typing into his laptop and eating what Serenity had left for him.

Yugi entered.

"Ah, I see you're enjoying Joey's cooking."

Seto instinctively spat out a bit of the meal back into the box. He shot Yugi a dirty look and said, "Don't test me with your jokes. This is his sister's."

"Ok," Yugi laughed, "If Serenity cooked that, then you would've spat out way more before I came in. That girl, as nice as she is, can't cook anything. I know that's Joey's food because he occasionally makes the same thing for me."

"Damn that family," Seto cursed, peeved that he had been tricked. Still, he continued eating whatever was left. It was delicious.

* * *

Seto had never really embarked on a personal journey to an emptied out employee office. It was the end of his day, and he made it his own to make sure Reo Hamada's office had been cleaned out. He didn't have the temper to watch the man leave, but he had just had to make sure the office was empty of his things. He couldn't have a murder scene at the office.

It was just a shell at this point. Only original office furniture was left, with no trace of personal touch. He stood by the doorway, scanning the interior and refused to step forward. If he thought about it, there were probably numerous people like Reo working under him. It just unfortunate this man messed with the wrong people. Funny how the world worked.

When turned, a fellow worker presented him an envelope. She stared, "Mr. Hamada wanted you to have this."

"What is this?" He cautiously took the envelope.

"Photos. From the paparazzi or something. We paid the photographer off and made sure he signed a confidentiality agreement. That included sending us any physical copies he had printed. Mr. Hamada was the only one who actually saw the photos. He said he had no use for them."

Seto silently nodded and left the office. He settled into his car, setting the envelope onto the passenger's seat. Curiosity prevented him from waiting until he got home, however. He snatched the envelope back and tore the casing away, seizing out the stack of photos.

His phone rang. He set the photos aside and started driving away, making sure that his phone connected to the speaker of his car.

"How was work?"

"Your roommate is diabolical. I was tricked into eating her brother's kibble."

Her clear laughter rang through the air. She even snorted, to which she seemed to pause in order to recollect herself.

"How elegant," he mockingly remarked.

"Mmm...Joey makes the best bento! He hasn't made me one in a while. I'm jealous. Just hearing about it makes my mouth water."

"It wasn't that good…" It _was_. Seto has never anticipated Joey to be a talented cook, but it wasn't like he ever held the other man in high regard, and he certainly wouldn't admit that he ever did.

"You didn't finish it?"

"No. I did," he hesitantly said. He wasn't about to admit to wasting food. He quickly changed subjects, "You're only craving his food because you haven't eaten, have you?"

"Sometimes I feel like eating is a waste of time. Humans would be more productive if we didn't have to eat, ya know? It would reduce-"

"Unfortunately you're human. Even worse, a very foolish one who will wilt and perish if she's too lazy to lift a spoon," he snapped.

"I won't have to lift a spoon if I eat a sandwich!"

"I hope that means you're actually _eating a sandwich._ "

"I am right now! Listen."

Seto didn't believe she would actually do something as elementary as that, yet she continued to surprise his low expectations. He shook his head, feeling simultaneously entertained and disturbed toward sounds of her eating. It filled the normally silent air of his car. He never thought that when he would break his traditionally quiet rides, he would be listening to some woman eating a sandwich. He disappointed his high expectations for himself.

"How was it?" She stopped her chewing.

Seto always thought of ways to get back at her. It was always a verbal game of cat and mouse. He made sure his voice sounded extra peeved as he answered, "I finally understand why noise pollution is an issue."

"Because you'd enjoy being deafened by the sweet torture my sounds?"

"Don't you have a job to work for now?"

"Maybe. I'll be out of one if I continue talking with you."

"That would be your fault for calling me first."

"I blame you for being so _charmin_ g," she pronounced the last word with such lightheartedness that a small laugh ensued. She more seriously said, "Although if you were so concerned about me, you'd hang up."

"Ha," Seto scoffed and smiled to himself, and only to himself. He retorted, "Unfortunately I'm not. I won't lift a finger to cancel this call. Enjoy being fired."

"But who will make your coffee?"

"Another barista."

"I thought we had something special," she faked a whine and continued teasing, "But fine. I'll hang up and keep this job since I know you couldn't live without my coffee. I'm the reason, after all, that you're surviving in your boring office job."

"Keep lying to yourself," he mocking said. Seto, however, had that same small smile remain on his face, hidden from the rest of the world. Before she could cut the call, he hurriedly addressed, "Kisara."

"Hm?"

"I…" Seto looked to his side at the slightly crumpled envelope. He was unsure if he should even bring up the subject. However, he figured he had already spoken, so he was left to say, "I have physical copies of those photos that Hamada claimed to have. I made sure his office was cleaned out, and I was told by another worker that he didn't need them anymore."

Silence was on the other end. He continued, "They're of us. In that bar. If you want them. You don't need to accept, I was just-"

"I-I want them."

"All of them?"

"Depends. Would you care to keep some? It is of _us_ , and you don't like _us_."

He would've asked Kisara what she meant by that, but he quickly understood her. _Us_ was the concept that they were anyway romantically affiliated. _Us_ was suggested in the photos of them far too close together with him particularly drunk exceedingly over his limit. _Us_ was something Kisara understood he disliked because he never mentioned a word of sharing a bed with her despite their daily calls since the weekend. The normalcy of accepting her calls started out with just her updating him about what she had informed Serenity after being caught on Sunday, and it just easily evolved into something casual. Easy. Things sure felt easy with her despite how difficult he made things out to be.

He had forgotten how nice it was to feel that way with someone, but he could better recall the apprehension he would feel after settling into that comfort. He definitely forgot, however, that being _us_ with someone was a _high_ that even he fell victim to, and it was the same case as he slipped out, "Of course."

 _Shit,_ he immediately thought. They were just photographs. So what if he wanted one or two for himself? That didn't suggest anything. It shouldn't. Seto clenched his teeth and quickly added, "But only the ones where you look stupid. There's this one where your pupils literally disappeared and you've got the most odd expression. Seriously, if I didn't know you, I wouldn't think that you'd be a model-"

"Nevermind!" she shouted in outrage. Kisara insisted, "I'll take them all! Sheesh…"

"No, I think I'll crop out the awful ones of you and send them to a tabloid company."

"Do you want to die?"

"I did when I saw these photos of you."

"I have to work," Kisara huffed with a low growl. She snipped, "Bring them all to me when we go bowling with the others, and I'll decide the ones you can keep! You understand, Seto?"

She hung up.

Seto couldn't sleep well that night. It was worse than usual. He ripped off his sheets, feeling too warm for his liking. His hands crept toward his nightstand, where the remote for his room's air conditioner was. He set it even lower.

His hand opened the drawer to his nightstand and fished out a piece of paper. His other hand took his phone and turned on the flashlight.

He was paranoid enough to retrieve it from his office trash can. It didn't make sense. He was tired of routinely taking out the letter and analyzing it. He was even desperate enough to Google hieroglyphics translations, yet none of the symbols he saw correlated to the one on the letter. It _appeared_ like hieroglyphics but nothing matched.

Nothing like this was supposed to happen. Not to her. He couldn't wait around until the doctor's appointment.

* * *

Kisara groaned to herself as she chucked her uniform off for a comfortable set of pajamas. She lay exhausted on her bed, pulling her phone up. A text message appeared.

 **Seto Kaiba:** How was work? After dumb bowling night with your insufferable friends, I want you to myself.

She swore her eyes went cross-eyed. Her hand felt like jelly after reading his text, and she set her phone next to her without replying. Kisara turned the other way and tightly gripped her sheets over her. It was funny how she'd like to imagine it was him around her every night since that mutually forgotten dream. What was she doing? She had called him after he texted her about Mokuba. She just liked her banters with him so much that she decided to call him the next day on Monday out of curiosity. He answered, and he continued to answer days after. She realized that she enjoyed their few minutes together after he worked and before she would work her night shift.

If she talked so casually since, why was she so nervous about what he just sent her? Being alone with him became a battle of potential excitement and disappointment - excitement over anything new and disappointment in the same old of never being more than just whatever they were. Could she even handle anything more after everything she'd been through with the slew of men she'd been with?

Kisara hated her hopeful self, but it was who she was. She thought to herself that he could be different. She thought that with every new man, but maybe it was true with this one. This one had been in her dreams for too long, anyways, or at least another version of himself. It couldn't hurt again, or so she'd convinced herself in submission of her constant need for someone.

Her hand reached for her phone.

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Bleach power:** LOL His head will try to wrap around it but it's probably still a huge "what the heck no way". I don't think they'll kill Joey though (actually that's Kaiba all the time), but Kisara would be amused that he was the first to put things together!

 **CryMeOut:** Three words with god? Haha!

 **itxprincessxlala:** Ahh, hope your new job goes well for you! We all should have that workaholic Kaiba trait at one point, hehe. Thanks for the reassurance that it wasn't too boring, cause I really like building up the fluff. Haha, I don't think I made them flip out too much LOL Although it'll have lasting jokes out of it! Yes! I'm going to start exploring more of her hallucinations and more of the past stuff soon! Thank you for your continued support!


	22. Chapter 21: What's in a Name

"Stop pouting."

Seto turned his head sharply behind towards Mokuba in the backseat and sharply said, "For the last time, I'm not pouting!"

"It's more like sulking…" Kisara muttered underneath her breath as she looked out the window from the passenger's seat.

"Uh, Kaiba," Serenity nervously addressed as his attention drifted towards her. She wanted to recede into her chair as she reminded him, "Um, don't forget that you're driving?"

"He's just being dramatic," Mokuba mockingly commented, "Bro hasn't actually went out with people other than his business partners."

"Aw, is it Seto's first time hanging out with friends?" Kisara joined in, "Must be _so exciting_ to bowl. Is it your first time?"

Seto growled as he returned to facing the front. He gave one side eye to Kisara as he said, "First of all, business partners count as people. Second, I don't exactly fit in a bowling alley filled with screaming children and edgy teenagers on daddy's salary. We're _too_ old to be bowling."

"That's why we're going to _Duke's_ casino to bowl," Mokuba reminded as he rolled his eyes, "You know, where only adults bowl with a side of ten vodkas."

"I can't believe he invested in a whole bowling alley for a damn casino," Seto snidely mentioned, "Sometimes I can't tell if he's actually making money from all the crap he spends on."

Kisara bit her bottom lip, a bit hesitant to comment. She awkwardly pitched, "Duke's business decisions are based on self-interests. _Black Clown_ casino is basically his million dollar playground. It's more like a resort, honestly. He makes more than enough for his antics. Not that I would know..."

"Do you guys still talk?" Serenity asked from behind. It had been a while since she heard Duke Devlin's name from her friend's mouth.

"I'd rather not anymore. I mean, I still work for his café, but things are just weird now," Kisara mindlessly answered. Her insides turned to mush as they pulled into the expansive, brilliantly lit complex. It was one of the most recognizable buildings in all of Domino, extravagant just like the owner.

Seto quietly listened. For some reason, the same feeling of discomfort he felt about Yugi ate at him. He was sick.

"Don't tell me he's an ex," Mokuba loudly announced, to which Seto sharply voiced " _Mokuba"_ as a warning to back down. He wasn't sure he _wanted_ to know.

"Ew, no," Kisara quickly answered in her most disgusted voice. She glanced toward her driver for a second before saying, "We just used to be really close...and then we had a fallout."

"Yikes," Mokuba made a face, "If you're uncomfortable, we can always go somewhere else."

"Uh, no, it's fine! Duke is close with Yugi and Joey, and he was nice enough to invite us even with the long waitlist the casino usually has," Kisara insisted as she waved her hands in denial, "I'm fine. I'm sure he won't even glance my way."

Seto didn't bother to comment on anything. He hoped the night wouldn't be long.

* * *

"Hey, beautiful! Haven't seen you in a while!"

Duke Devlin, as painstakingly handsome as he was with his jet black hair strung in a surprisingly attractive ponytail and stunning green eyes, sprang one arm around Kisara the moment the group entered the bowling alley. Neon lights in the general darkness of the room made the entire vicinity feel like a club, and the smell of alcohol permeated through the air. A bright grin appeared on his face. He pulled her in as he excitedly announced, "Look's like the gang's all here! Ooh, looks like we got a new member. Seto Kaiba, hmm? Welcome, welcome, what is it that Joey calls you? Moneybags?"

While Duke's left arm was embracing an uncomfortable and shocked Kisara, his other extended toward Seto in an attempt to shake hands, who didn't even bat an eye toward the hand or the face of the playboy. Instead, he only observed Kisara, who clearly looked lost in the moment, probably wondering why this person she claimed to have disposed of was so friendly. She eventually pulled away by unwrapping his arm away from her, and avoided Duke's quizzical glances.

Duke raised an eyebrow. He took back his arm that had been for Seto. He chose to pull Kisara back with the same arm and used his other hand to rub the top of her head like a dog, messing up her neat hair, much to her utter dismay.

"You don't know how much I missed you!" Duke whined

"Duke, if you don't-" Kisara firmly started addressing until she found herself cut off. Her eyes widened as she realized who decided to speak up. Her heart skipped a beat.

"She's uncomfortable. Can't you see she doesn't like it?" Seto loudly voiced above Duke's overactive tone and Kisara's regrettable one. Duke immediately stopped. He let go but completely ignored Seto, who felt even more out of place when the other man chose to refocus on her instead of him.

Duke worriedly faced Kisara and hurriedly said, "Sorry, Kisara...it's been a while. I forgot we even fought. I guess I just want to go back to how we were before."

"If I recall correctly, _I_ was the one who wanted to go back. _You_ pushed me away," Kisara argued as her voice was etched with a growing sense of frustration. She hopelessly looked toward Seto, who seemed keen enough to understand he was listening to a personal conversation. The problem was that it was clearly being interpreted without context.

They were two people in their own world. Seto huffed and walked off, over to whatever lane the rest of the group appeared to be. Mokuba and Serenity couldn't even fit in a word with how awkward the situation had become. As they followed Seto, Mokuba leaned down to Serenity and lowly whispered, "Are you sure they didn't date?"

"Positive," Serenity assured. As they reached everyone else, she looked back in worry, seeing that the argument continued. She returned her attention to Seto, who seemed determined to look as unbothered as possible. He appeared as tense as ever, with a stern face and crossed arms.

"Where are your bowling shoes?" Yugi peered toward the CEO, curious as to why everyone else seemed to carry a pair. He sat at a table along with Mai and Joey, who had a side conversation with the other couple in the room.

"I am not bowling," Seto quipped.

"Then why are you here?"

"Because Mokuba."

"Why are you overdressed?"

Yugi studied the other man's attire, quite astounded that he had arrived in another one of his work suits. Every other guy had dressed a bit more casually, with a decent shirt and pair of pants, yet Seto took it upon himself to flounce with another expensive looking, standard black suit.

Seto looked down at Yugi, unsure whether he should even answer such a menial question. He sourly replied, "Because I have matters to attend to after this."

"This late at night?" Yugi questioned in disbelief. However, he shrugged after figuring that there was no end in the dedication the CEO put forth into his taxing job.

Before he could press on, Duke strutted near everyone and announced, "Alright! How many do we have? Hmm...is it seven playing?"

"Oi," Joey jabbed a finger straight toward Seto, who met his gaze with the usual disdain, "You ain't playin'?"

"Does my lack of appropriate footwear say otherwise?" Seto glowered, pointing his hand directly toward his feet, which were enclosed by a nice pair of seal brown dress shoes.

"But how are we supposed to split up the teams with an uneven number?!" Joey exclaimed in complaint and stormed over to Seto, who didn't flinch from his stance but was ready at any second to bitch slap a mutt if he got too close.

And he did get too close, because Seto found the blonde man brave enough to place one hand on his shoulder. Joey, against all odds, smiled toward him. It was, to say the least, absolutely _freaky._

"Get your dirty hand off my -"

"Heard you finished my food the other day!" Joey gleefully announced loud enough for everyone else to hear. It seemed like everyone else knew about what happened that they stifled their laughter by covering their mouths with their hands. Only one person seemed horrified, and it was none other than Yugi, who bent over his seated position to bury his face in his hands.

"Oh, you did?" Seto narrowed his eyes in direction of Yugi. He was the only person who knew, and the only one who could rat him out.

"I gotta say, Kaiba, even if we got our issues, I don't care who you are when you finish my food," Joey joyously continued, "Makes me happy knowing someone gets full from my meals."

"I hope you realize I never said it was good."

"Ha, you don't have to," Joey retorted as his smile got wider to the point his eyes disappeared. His other hand carried a bowling ball, to which he raised in front of Seto's face. He insisted, "C'mon. You owe me one for the treat. Be a team player."

All eyes were on Seto, and it was the first time in a while that he was reminded that he hated the odd feeling. As egotistical as everyone painted him to be, there were moments when he loathed to be the center of attention. Despite being the person where every decision by his employees hinged upon his opinion, this was simply detestable.

Eventually, he reasoned, "Not a single one of you mention his food again."

And with that, he walked away to get a pair of bowling shoes, much to the delight of everyone else.

"Charming as ever, that Kaiba," Duke immediately commenced as the other man was out of earshot, "Be honest. I'm the more likeable CEO, right?"

"Seeing as you're the one hosting us tonight, I don't think we have a choice," Kisara sarcastically mentioned as she scoured for a bowling ball that she could handle. She crouched down for a ball on the lowest rack, and thinking she found the right weight, picked an obnoxious purple one. Once she stood up, she found herself trapped in the arms of Duke Devlin. Another bowling ball was held in front of her. She stumbled back unexpectedly and realized her back had made contact with his chest, and her face contorted in one of obvious horror.

"I believe this was your weight, love," Duke leaned his head down to whisper in her ear in what was undoubtedly one tactic he used on women.

Kisara noticed that Seto had returned and was scouting for a ball of his own on the other side. He calmly observed the two, only meeting her gaze for one second before walking off and leaving Kisara in an embarrassing position.

"W-What the hell are you doing, Devlin?!" Kisara harshly asked as turned around and stabbed him in the stomach with her bowling ball, causing him to snap in shocked pain and veer to the side. She glanced back and forth nervously from Duke to Seto. The latter tried his best not to appear distracted by the two as he pretended to intently listen to another one of Yugi's office stories. Kisara huffed and spat back, "God, you can be such an _ass_. You can put that ball back, I've gotten stronger." She shook her head and walked away from him, nearing closed to Serenity and Mai.

Duke patted his perfectly toned stomach and simply smile. He exchanged the ball for one of his weight, and returned. He set his ball with the ones the others chose and started tapping away on one of the operating machines. He asked, "Alrighty, so now that we've got an even number, how are we dividing teams?"

"Can't you just randomize it?" Seto instigated with a rather bitter tone. Mokuba raised a brow, wondering whether it was the idea of bowling that got him in a bad mood, or if it was the mysterious relationship between Duke and Kisara.

Duke frowned as he whined, "But that's no fun."

"We can't do boys versus girls, huh?" Mai asked as she noticed it was five guys to three girls. She smiled and pulled Joey in with one arm, "Joey will happily oblige to be a girl, however."

"Oi, we should do siblings on one team versus the others," Joey protested as he crossed his arms. He playfully stuck his face closer to Mai's cheek as he said, "Cause you're going down for that, sweetie." He, of course, was referring to the Kaibas and Wheelers on one team. It was a rather nice attempt at trying to strengthen their relations.

"Or," Serenity spoke up with a certain slyness in her aura, one of which Seto was more alert about since his bento incident, "We can do couples versus singles. One team of Mokuba, Joey, Mai, and me versus Kaiba, Duke, Yugi, and Kisara."

"I second that!" Mokuba gleefully hugged his girlfriend from behind, elated that she seemed to mirror his own plan.

"Haha!" Duke chuckled at the suggestion and said, "I like that!" He started plugging everyone's names into each respective team.

Kisara widened her eyes and shouted aloud, "Hold up! You two can't seriously leave me with the guys!" She squinted toward Mai and Serenity, who only shrugged.

"Well, one of us was going to have to be alone with how the gender ratio is," Mai pointed out, "C'mon you've got the King of Games on your side."

"Bowling isn't exactly my forte," Yugi mentioned as he invited Kisada to sit across from him. One table accounted for four seats, and Seto had already occupied the one next to him, "But I won't disappoint!"

"Guess it's time to rely on my future roommate," Kisara decidedly reasoned as she complied to his gesture. Once she sat down, she looked toward Seto and mocked, "Good to know since I'm with you, I won't be the least experienced on the team."

"Nothing to brag about," Seto coolly responded.

"Let's get it, guys!" Duke shouted and dramatically called his staff over. He yelled out, "Drinks on me!"

* * *

The skill level among the group became starkly obvious within the first couple rounds. Although the singles team benefitted by having the owner of the bowling alley on their side, the couples team was more consistent in knocking down the most pins. The chemistry between the two couples was far more friendly in comparison to their opponents. Each member had a blast sharing techniques and other stories. It was simply more comfortable than the awkward teamwork of Duke, Kisara, Seto, and Yugi.

While Yugi got along with every other member on his team, the same couldn't be said for the other three with one another. Duke spent the bulk of his time annoying and teasing Kisara, with his continued use of pet calling her and occasionally playing with her long hair when they sat with each other. She tolerated him best by ignoring his antics and instead trying to strike awkward conversations with Seto.

"Seto," Kisara addressed, although she still found it odd to pronounce, "I read that Apple is buying off some of KaibaCorp's technology for their new smartphones. May I ask what specifically?"

Seto knew when people asked questions just to ask questions, and Kisara was doing just that. He stared at her blankly, silently judging her and giving off an "Are you serious?" aura. Before he could answer, Duke decided to open his mouth.

"Seto?" Duke questioned as he let the name roll off his tongue. He breathed in sharply and commented, "Sounds intimate. Are you two fucking by any chance?"

Yugi tried holding back a laugh from Duke's blatant nature, but he could only partially save himself. He coughed violently into his beer can, making sure to look away from the growingly angry CEO next to him. The other team looked over out of curiosity.

"Seriously, Duke, why are you like this?!" Kisara exclaimed as she buried her face into her hands. She quickly raised her head back up and hissed, " _No._ "

"Alright, calm down, love," Duke replied without a shift in his mood, "Haven't heard the man be called that from anyone else but his brother. I'm curious why you call him that."

"It wouldn't be any of your business," Seto brusquely interjected with his eyes completely on the other man, who barely returned the same attention. He bitterly added, "and neither is her hair. For fuck's sake, I've lost count the amount of times she's swatted your hand away. It's a mystery why she hasn't shoved a bowling ball down your throat already."

Kisara felt her face grew warm from the fact that he even noticed. Up until this point, she tried her best not to make a scene when everyone else was trying to have fun. She looked down toward her lap in embarrassment, knowing full well that she could have been more assertive on her end.

Duke unwinded his finger from Kisara's hair and slowly receded his antics. Now, Seto had his full attention. He coyly stated, "Aren't you the white knight?"

With one swig of his beer, he got up and left to bowl for his turn, leaving behind the awkward situation.

Seto too stood once Duke left, seating himself where the other man sat - next to Kisara. He narrowed his eyes and warned, "Look. I don't care if you have some weird history with him, but learn to say no even when it might get uncomfortable."

"It's fine," Kisara quietly said, "He means no harm, and he's always like that with women. I would know that from how we used to be." She gripped her own beer can with both hands, refusing to glance his way.

" _Kisara_ ," he lowly said, indicating that he wished she reanalyze his former words.

"I know," she insisted, "Duke would never do anything bad to me, as shady he is. What happened between us was my fault, anyways. I shouldn't be furious."

Seto shook his head in disbelief from her continued adamance concerning Duke. Everyone watched Duke score another strike, further establishing himself as the best bowler by far. The cheers of and awe of the group made him slightly sick. Although he didn't care for a game like bowling, it irked him that Duke was adept at the sport.

Perhaps it was because he sucked the most out of everyone else.

Yugi had made sure to face his back toward the two. He tried his best to shut out their conversation and give them privacy. He didn't mind, as he was in a conversation of his own in text with Tea, who was incapable of arriving tonight.

"Your turn, gutter ball," Duke smirked as he returned to the table. He raised a brow as he noticed Seto had taken his place next to Kisara. He simply took the seat next to Yugi while mocking assuring, "Don't worry. I wouldn't dream of crossing the likes of Seto Kaiba. I got my other friend Yugi right here." He proceeded to attack Yugi with one hard side hug.

"Duke!" Yugi cried out helplessly, "You just messed up my aim on pool!"

"Eh?" Duke leaned over to shove his face closer to Yugi's phone, noticing the the caller ID and the game they were playing. He loudly said, "Téa? Why aren't _you_ the one marrying her?"

Seto shook his head and left for his turn when the conversation started veering to Yugi's love life. Before he did, however, Kisara pulled on his sleeve and warmly cheered, "I believe in you!" Her mouth contorted into one of those smiles that he secretly admired, and she simply looked prettier in comparison to her sullen attitude with Duke.

"This isn't something worth believing in, tch," he brushed her wish aside, only hearing that laughter of hers when he left.

He did, however, manage to actually contact some pins this time around. His right hand twitched as he suddenly recalled the same sensation when he dueled. Seto turned around to return to his seat, only to be met with a bunch of cheers for...him?

"Knew you could finally hit one, Kaiba!" Joey yelled out with a huge grin.

What was wrong with everyone? What was wrong with Wheeler? Seto only avoided their congratulations and plopped back into his seat, disturbed more than anything.

"Let's play real pool, guys," Duke suggested, although he was really talking to Yugi and Kisara. He continued, "Got a whole room for it at the casino. Better yet, we can go clubbing right after. Just us since those lame couples can't party hard." He chucked out a box of cigarettes, motioning it toward Kisara, as if she were the only one at the table that would accept one.

Kisara froze for a couple seconds as she registered the carton. She hurriedly shook her head and said, "No thanks, and I have to do something after."

"You do?"

Duke and Yugi found themselves synchronized, both confused for different reasons. Yugi, only silently stared at Seto, who was too distracted by staring down a smoking Duke. He remembered that the other man mentioned something about having an arrangement to attend to afterwards.

For Duke, on the other hand, he was mystified as to why Kisara seemed to ignore his cigarette offer. He retracted his arm and lit one cigarette for himself. He doubtfully said, "More fun than pool and clubbing? You sure changed, beautiful. Suppose it's for the better." As Duke released a stream of smoke from his mouth, the hint of tobacco sent Kisara into a frenzy of unwanted memories.

The last thing Kisara wanted was an extended hangout with Duke. He was a part of a past that she was trying her best to remove herself from. It wasn't necessarily him that she wanted to avoid, but it was the way he had become an icon for her less than admirable, former antics. She knew fully well that he didn't purposefully bring up her past to spite her, and she really shouldn't have felt so abashed. Maybe it was because a particular man was seated next to her, and he was the last person that she wanted to know. Despite her growing more comfortable with him, she was unsure how he would judge her.

"I would actually be open to playing some quick pool, but I would have to decline clubbing."

Kisara snapped out of her thoughts once she noticed it was Seto that had surprisingly accepted Duke's proposal. She glared at him, who continued focusing on Duke.

"Alright. Pool it is. What about you, Yugi?"

"Huh?" Yugi had his eyes glued on his phone while he eventually replied, "I can't play _real_ pool for the life of me. Clubbing, maybe. You should ask the couples too. They can go pretty hard."

"Kisara? Pool isn't so bad, right? Join me and Kaiba while the others club. If you're feeling it later, we can join them after."

Kisara warily considered her options. It seemed like everyone else would clearly want to align with one of Duke's offers. She shouldn't have been surprised, however, as there was a definite reason as to why her friends chose to bowl at such a place. Bowling was only a gate to an entire night of having fun. However, she was duly surprised that Seto showed interest in pool. Did he forget the text he sent her last night?

She nodded her head and said, "I'll join for pool."

* * *

The Black Clown resort was a complex of inventive buildings practically scrunched together. It was, as Kisara had put it, Duke Devlin's playground. From Seto's perspective, it was Domino City's biggest eyesore. Despite having a respectable hotel and all the amenities associated, most people knew the place for its famous casino, where people from all over the world seemed to congregate. They would either lose out on thousands in the actual casino, or drink their night away in the adjacent club.

The pool room was only one of many game rooms in the multiplex of Duke's adult entertainment. Unlike the bowling alley, Duke hadn't shut it off from everyone else, so other parties were in the room. However, the ambience of the spacious vicinity was relatively dim and lowlit, with only a quiet buzz filling the room from various conversations.

If he didn't like Duke before, then Seto definitely despised how tactile the other man was with Kisara, and it infuriated him even more when he noticed that she purposefully tolerated Duke's actions. It seemed like the longer they interacted, the more she seemed to forgive him. Perhaps that was her nature. She seemed to bend quite easily despite putting up a front as long as the other person treated her nicely. He surely could not empathize with such behavior.

It was in her laugh and her increasing smiles, all genuine, that Seto understood all the conflict that Kisara allegedly had with Duke magically dissipated. Their relationship seemed close enough that the two were already scot-free of awkwardness. It was also evidenced by the fact that she seemed comfortable from Duke's occasional one-armed hugs that were always accompanied by a shoulder rub.

Lord did Seto abhor that shoulder rub and the little swish noises of Duke's hand contacting her skin. He found himself quite alone in the company of the other two. He only had the company of his cue stick to lean against, and he couldn't help but think how pathetic he looked so quiet in comparison to the various conversations shared between Kisara and Duke.

And to think he was the one to first agree to pool. He had only wanted a chance at a game he was more comfortable with and one that he was quite sure he was fully capable of winning. In all honesty, he simply wanted to make up for his poor performance in bowling. However, he found his plan backfiring as he found himself too distracted by Duke and Kisara's behavior when trying to perfect the correct aim and angle. The amount of scratches due to him were embarrassing to count.

"You're dressed quite nice, Kisara," Duke commented with a little whistle, "What's the occasion since you _aren't_ clubbing afterwards?"

"It's nothing," Kisara answered, although she let a small smile break her.

"Oh. It's a man," Duke figured out, giving her a rather funny, mocking expression from the way his eyebrows raised up and down.

Kisara pursed her lips and chose not to mention anything. She didn't want Duke to go sniffing around. Even if she denied anything, he was the type to insist his theories. She leaned against the pool and pressed her cheek against her cue stick, wondering if Seto had noticed she tried a little harder. She certainly noticed that he did with another stately suit, one that was clearly separate from his usual work ones. Her heart fluttered a bit from the possibility that he wanted to look nice for her.

Her body flinched when she heard a rather exasperated and frustrated sigh from Seto. She looked over and realized that he had failed to hit a ball again, rendering her turn next. It didn't appear that he was awful at the sport, of anything he was just as adequate as Duke - who only really cared to play just to look "cool."

She expertly launched one of her designated balls into a pocket. She smiled to herself as she heard Duke clap for her. However, when she looked at Seto, she saw him shoot her a death glare.

"Is - is something wrong?" she asked, unsure of what she did to deserve such a look.

"Ha, he's just jealous you've been destroying us," Duke, much to Seto's annoyance, answered for him. He continued, "Nice to see you haven't lost your skills."

Kisara ended her turn after shooting again and allowed Duke to make his move. She noticed that Seto hadn't responded at all. She decided to speak to him again, "It's kind of easy when I go after you...from all the scratches you make. If anything, I've been playing unfairly."

Seto only acknowledged her statement with a glance as he prepared his cue stick against the cue ball once Duke had finished. His rather menial response rendered Kisara worry. She bit her bottom lip in question and found herself willing to speak again. As Seto was about to hit the cue ball, she hurriedly commented, "Your angle is off."

That made him pause. He felt himself chew a portion of his inner cheek, unsure of her implications. He slowly stood from his bent position and finally spoke to her, "Didn't realize you were a pool expert."

"She _has_ been kicking our asses, Kaiba," Duke uninvitedly chimed in, much to Seto's increasing vexation with the man.

"She said so herself," Seto argued calmly. He scrutinized Kisara, who seemed quite confident from the way she didn't back down from his judgemental gaze. He proposed, "that she has only been winning from my scratches. If you're so good at pool, then tell me how to land that ball into a pocket." He pointed.

Kisara only grinned and mockingly said, "I would think that you're using me by helping you win from a bet, but I'm winning by so much that you really do want to learn."

Something stirred in him. It was the usual snappish conversation they had, but the pleasantness of their usual antics was amplified simply by her demonstrating her skill at pool. If there was anything that he loved in the world, it was games, or practically anything with strategy. From chess to poker, he would play anything. He had never expected her to be interested, much less be any good at any strategic games. From the few times he had played an assortment of card games with the rest of the group, she had never particularly shined. He knew for sure that she didn't play Duel Monsters despite probably having extensive knowledge of it now. It was pleasant to know that she could possibly be good at one game he somewhat enjoyed.

But of course, it would be supremely stupid to think a woman was attractive simply from sharing one interest. Seto stood stone still as he observed her play around with different angles and positions with her own cue stick. He had given her a fairly difficult task that he wouldn't even be upset about if she didn't uphold her end.

There was something oddly nice seeing her bend over to test out positions. The long-sleeved dress she chose to wear tonight fit her figure like a glove. It was a calming periwinkle, form-fitting but modest down to her knee, and complimented her pale complexion. The material looked quite thin, however, and that alone made him think the other way.

"Come here."

He abruptly forced his thoughts away as he walked next to her. She edged away a bit so that he could take her original stance. Seto avoided looked at her as he positioned his cue stick in the way he had observed her.

"You're just a bit off," she barely murmured, quite wary not to annoy him further. She reached out one hand to his outreached one and gently enclosed her hand around his wrist. Her other hand dared to rest on his back for extra support. Kisara placed pressure for his hand to veer a bit to the left, in which Seto complied.

He could not remember anyone ever holding his hand through a game, but right then, he thought that maybe it wasn't terrible having that someone be Kisara.

"...and shoot," she airily declared.

The cue ball rammed against the wall and ricocheted off at a perfect angle towards the exact ball he had challenged her to hit. That same ball appeared to be heading straight toward a pocket, and he felt himself actually hold his breath.

The ball missed the pocket by a hair and simply bounced off the near wall.

"So close…" she softly whispered in defeat.

Seto was honestly impressed that she was nearly accurate in her predictions. However, he wasn't about to let her have the benefit of his regards. He smirked and haughtily scoffed, turning his head towards her.

They were extremely close again. Her hand still held onto his wrist, and the other was still on his back. Their faces were inches apart as they ended up entranced in each other's presence.

He did not know why on earth he wrongfully decided to word his response.

"Not close enough."

Duke had been awkwardly standing on the opposite end of the pool table. It was his turn to feel a bit left out. He felt himself want to vomit from how cheesy the entire scene appeared to be. He whipped out another cigarette and lit the darn thing before audibly huffing.

That sound destroyed the dynamic between the other two. Kisara scrambled back up and removed her hands from Seto, feeling herself blush inscrutable after realizing that someone had been watching them. He, on the other hand, collectively inched farther away from her, choosing to focus on the pool table.

"Damn, love," Duke mocked as he blew a puff, "Sign _me_ up for your pool lessons." He then burst into a rather voluminous laugh, thick and loud enough to earn stares from surrounding players. Tears started forming in his eyes. He aggressively wiped them away with his free hand as he barely choked out, "That was cute, guys."

Seto and Kisara made sure to distance themselves further, and avoid the glances of curious spectators. Eventually they looked away, but it didn't quell any more of the awkwardness.

"Well. I'm ready to join the others for some _light drinking_ ," Duke announced with a joking emphasis on the last phrase. He ran a hand through his immaculately jostled hair and added, "Let's go Kaiba. While Kisara goes on a hot date, let's put your money to good use."

Seto nearly pummeled Duke as the other man dared to wrap one arm around his neck in an attempt at affection. It was true that Duke spared no discomfort at _not_ keeping his hands to himself, and it seemed like he was the type of person who didn't care who he was with as long as that person had a beating heart. He extracted the other man's unwarranted embrace and tossed his arm off, earning Seto a surprised glance.

"Don't tell me you can't go," Duke whined as he placed both his hands onto his waist, "Seriously, don't you want to spend your last night with Mokuba before he leaves tomorrow?"

"All he'll do is dance with his girlfriend," Seto snapped as he patience was weakening, "We have scheduled a breakfast tomorrow before he leaves. I will have ample time with him."

"Aye, Kaiba. At this moment, Mokuba is at the hottest club in all of Domino, and I, as the handsome and generous philanthropist, have blessed the group with unlimited, free alcohol. Do you _seriously_ think he'll wake up well enough to have _breakfast_?"

"What's your damn point?"

"My point," Duke held up his index finger as he said, "I'm not going to limit his fun, and no one else is either. Unless, I don't know, his more responsible older brother is around to watch him. I mean, I want his last night in Japan to be fun, but you would want to limit that, right? So you can guarantee that you have time left for tomorrow?"

"He's responsible."

"Really?" Duke eyed Seto doubtfully, "Not the first time he's went clubbing here."

"I've got business-"

"You should go…" Kisara decided to interrupt the two's conversations. Both looked at her, with Duke have an approving expression and Seto raising his brow in confusion. She smiled in assurance and stated, "I'm sure what you have to attend isn't as important as making sure your brother doesn't collapse before he leaves."

"That isn't for you to judge," Seto argued.

"But I'm right," Kisara returned, "and so is Duke."

He _knew_ it was an awful idea that the group had decided to go to the Black Clown. Bowling was just a stupid front for another one of Duke's parties. Normally he would have been fine with being some watchdog for his little brother, even if it meant sticking around in a god awful, thunderous night club with epilepsy-worthy neon lights shuttering around. This was, of course, because it was the last night. Yet, a part of him wanted to take Kisara up on his wish from the night before. She looked more than decent, and he thought it wouldn't be bad to be with her alone in the night.

"...I was the one to propose a meeting. It would be terrible if I were the one to break a promise so last minute," Seto explained with a rigid tone, as if to communicate to her that he didn't want to flounce to some club.

"It's fine," she said softly. Duke shot her a suspicious glance, moving his attention back and forth between her and Seto. She caught his looks and cleared her throat, "...I mean, some other time. It's not that important, right?"

It sort of was. He needed time alone with her, time when they could finally discuss everything about their relations, and he definitely needed to get to the bottom of the letter dilemma. However, Seto had a feeling that she felt herself prioritized over Mokuba from the way Duke had worded the situation. That meddlesome playboy was the bane to his tolerance, but he was ultimately at a loss. He didn't want Mokuba trashed, and it wouldn't be any better having Kisara feel guilty.

"Fucking hell," Seto breathed underneath his breath before more audibly addressing Duke, "I don't want you throwing any women on me. Understand?"

Duke shrugged and rolled his cig coolly as he slyly said, "I don't control what women like. Can't help they're moths to a flame...especially a filthy rich and an almost-as-hot-as-Duke-Devlin kind of flame like you. C'mon. I'll show you fun outside of building dragon theme parks."

Kisara chuckled as she wished, "I'm not sure that's possible with him, Duke...but you two enjoy yourselves."

"What are _you_ going to do?" Seto immediately questioned.

"Yeah, Kisara, what Kaiba here means is...why aren't you joining? Can't you ditch your date too?" Duke piped in.

Kisara's eyebrows twitched together back and forth for a couple seconds. Her eyes blinked multiple time in irregular increments as she felt her breath get shallow. She quietly answered, "No. I - I think I'll sit this one out."

"Too early?" Duke sympathetically questioned, much to Seto's undisclosed understanding. He settled, "That's fine. Take care, love."

* * *

"I'm going to _murder_ you and _ruin_ your whole company if you don't get these women _off_."

Of course, the only response that Seto received from Duke was a belligerent howl. The young CEO grit his teeth as he slid away from an incoming woman ready to sidle up and leaned her mouth to his earn to whisper another offer. He was tired. He was sick of the stream of women coming from all corners of the ridiculously deafening club, only to try and yammer their mouths away about coming to a hotel room. This woman in particular was extra persistent with the way she graciously sat herself onto his lap and was nice enough to give him an unwarranted lap dance.

"Get off…" He warned the first time, only to be duly ignored by her.

"DEVLIN!" Seto screamed in horror as he rather roughly pulled the woman's arm to the side, landing her away from him in one fell swoop. A shocked expression appeared on her face, overwhelmed by the sudden force he had resorted to. He appeared unapologetic, fed up by the past hour of shenanigans. He shook his head and zoned in toward the couch that Duke sat with multiple women at his side.

"Holy shit, Kaiba," Duke furrowed his brows, "You can't just disrespect women like that."

"They weren't respecting _me_ ," Seto pointed out grimly, "I'm leaving."

"What about Mokuba?"

"He's an adult."

"Heh, barely."

"I'm leaving."

Before he knew it, Duke had peeled off his women and rushed toward him, who was midway rubbing his eyes from the atrocities of the night. As soon as a hand laid on shoulder, Seto duly hooked a fist around Duke's collar, appearing more peeved by the second.

"If this isn't enough of a warning-" he harshly started off before being interrupted.

"Here."

Duke managed to slip something into his suit pockets, but Seto remained his grasp.

"What did you just give me?"

Duke only smiled and waved his concern off, "Go enjoy your own private suite. I've rented everyone a room tonight in the hotel, so don't be concerned about having to drive them back. Trust me. How could you not?" He gave his trademark wink and a sly smile, immediately slinking away the moment Seto slightly loosened his grip.

Seto shoved his hand into his pockets to retrieve what appeared to be a key card.

"By the way," Duke started slinking away into a crowd of his usual women as he mentioned, "Relax a bit. That card grants you access to the new sauna area in room 7382. Go melt your stress off."

Before Seto could ask further questions, Duke had already retreated to his usual partying ways. He shook his head and immediately weaseled his way past the inebriated crowd clinging onto every annoyance that he could possibly have. This was dumb. Tonight was dumb.

* * *

The whole establishment was gaudy and despicable. With the amount of smokers he had come across tonight, Seto was genuinely shocked that remnants of the usual tobacco didn't cling onto the walls of the hotel. He had absolutely nothing to do tonight. He hadn't brought his laptop along because he had believed bowling would have been over quickly. He should've trusted his initial suspicions that the whole group would be somehow entangled by one of Duke Devlin's schemes.

Seto aggressively pushed open the door to the sauna that Duke had suggested. He figured that he would immediately leave after perhaps half an hour of the damn place. Once he stepped into the vicinity of the sauna, he didn't know whether he should be impressed or disgusted by the sheer grandeur of the playboy's newly constructed sauna. It was cut off from the rest of the public, and it looked like no one else was there.

He figured it was a mix of Japanese onsen and some sort of European ancient bath. A huge pool was the main attraction, and it radiated vapors that suggested the invitation of a warm soak. A rather fanciful fountain was placed in the middle, with a Greco-Roman statue to top it off. The ceiling was even more extravagant with a spacious glass dome for one, piercing into the night sky, as the sauna was located on the topmost floor. Unfortunately, no stars appeared due to the surrounding dense city lights. It seemed as if there were private rooms set off to the side as well, but he found them locked as he tried to pry one open.

"I hate you, Devlin," he muttered rather loudly after giving up. He wasn't about to continue what was futile. He didn't exactly want to go in the vacant pool of water in the middle, despite the quiet serenity of it. Being in such big of a space as he was in, he didn't feel comfortable to lounge around in it. Still, he hesitantly approached the near area and found himself sitting on a lounge chair.

"He's not the most likable of people."

Familiar, as always was that voice. Seto, a bit alert, raised his head towards the source. He scanned the perimeter but found himself unable to identify _her_. Eventually, he could also hear small wisps of water in motion. His eyes narrowed towards the pool, seeing that white head peak out from the fountain.

"What are you doing here?"

Kisara swam her way to the side where Seto was. Her face too gleaned with curiosity. She placed herself against the pool's edge. She answered, "Duke gave me a key card. He said I should at least enjoy myself somewhat if everyone else is partying."

Seto didn't know why he had the aching suspicion that Duke had playfully set up a situation like this. He scoffed and looked away from her blue eyes. Everything was getting ridiculous. He asked, "It's late. I find it suspicious that while I was away for hours wasting my time, you choose to be here at this particular time when you could have come earlier. Are you following me?"

She simply shrugged and playfully responded, "I was here before you! I think you're the one following _me_ , although I would never blame you of that...maybe it's...FATE?!"

Kisara chuckled as she suddenly flicked water from the pool toward Seto, whose eyes widened as water touched his dry clothes. Strangely, he didn't find himself frustrated in the slightest. He played it off as an annoyance by rolling his eyes and clearing his throat. He changed subjects, "Don't joke about that. How do you know Devlin?"

"Mm...Duke?" Kisara bit her lip, and he could see that all the lightheartedness from her faded as she hesitantly explained, "...a friend. I suppose."

Silence occurred. The only sounds for a bit were of Kisara turning her back to him as she rested against the pool wall. It seemed that he had touched a subject she didn't want to elaborate. Yet, his curiosity was the most interesting thing to occur for him.

"What had you mad at Devlin in the first place?" he calculated, "Although I wouldn't blame you. His business practices and that constant alcoholic smell-"

"It's not that I don't like him," Kisara suddenly defended, much to his surprise. She shakedly explained, "...We used to be very close. Nothing like a relationship. He was there when I needed him. Then I - I did something, or a bunch of somethings, that he didn't like. He was right not to like what I did. I don't even like what I've done. But we left on sour terms, and Duke is very forgiving, you see...and it was all my fault but I never returned any of his texts and calls. I just cut him off like that one part of my past. And I -"

He could hear her throat get caught up.

"-and I know I've been saying that you can't just lock away your past, but what I used to do isn't something to be proud of. I don't want anyone to know, and the fact that _he_ knows-"

Seto could tell she had raised her hand to her mouth. It sounded like she was holding back tears. He figured he probably shouldn't probe further.

"You don't have to tell me anything," he reassured, "I don't care much for a past that has nothing to do with the present."

That was a comfort to her ears. Something about that assuredness in his voice made her more relaxed than the warm temperature of the pool. Kisara took off her hand and started making her way towards the opposite end, where all her belongings were.

"Don't leave," Seto shortly demanded.

Kisara had both her hands pressed against the edge, ready to prop herself up. She stopped and worriedly asked, "What are you talking about? I'm just getting my towel. I'll stay to chat…"

She was dressed modestly for the pool. He noticed that she settled for a simple black one piece, courtesy of the resort's services. The water level where she stood wasn't deep at all, and cut below her breasts. Underneath the light of the night sky, she looked more unnatural, with her pale hair slicked wet and nearly blending with the shade of her skin. Her blue eyes wavered as he approached her.

Seto approached her by immersing himself into the pool fully-clothed, with only his shoes left out. His pants were the ones mainly soaked, as the pool area she was in was barely four feet. He walked as efficiently as he could towards her, pausing about a foot upfront.

"Seto," Kisara pronounced quietly, unsure of the situation. She didn't want to point out the obviousness of him being in the pool, but she was too dumbstruck to accept what just happened. It was nearly comical how his face looked at hers so seriously.

"I think we talk too much," he stated. His blue eyes were more calm now, even soft.

Kisara nervously rubbed one of her shoulders as she looked away. She felt her face start to warm. Surely she was pink if not for the blue hues of the pool lights under lighting her. It was mostly silent with them being the only ones there, with practically only the soft undulating of the pool waves to accompany their brief conversation. She asked, "Is that a problem?"

"Yes," Seto unabashedly said. He edged closer.

Kisara sharply turned towards him after hearing the water swish more, indicating that he had moved closer. She bit her bottom lip, baffled by his statement. She wasn't sure she had heard correctly. After a few seconds, she asked, "What's wrong with you? Did you drink too much?"

"Too little," he smoothly answered, "So little that I can't believe I'm doing this sober."

He inched toward her little by little, the swish of the water driving her mad with nervousness and excitement. This was it, that moment of excitement she had secretly longed for when they were alone. The closer he was to her, the lower his head seemed to dip each second, set on a decline to her face.

That deep, throaty voice of his came alive again to say, "I'm _tired_ of being patient, Kisara," as his hands cupped her face. One thumb of his slightly rubbed her skin.

Kisara panicked. She actually _panicked_ in the spur of the moment that he had built up. Despite herself completely understanding what was happening, she couldn't _accept_ the impending reality. It was going by too quickly without context, and all her fears accumulated at their peak.

She didn't know why she crumbled as soon as she could feel his breath against her face.. Her head quickly fell onto his chest as she brought her hands up as well, gently pressing against his body. His chest felt so firm against her cheek, and she felt her temperature rise with every heavy breath she took. She couldn't look at him.

Seto was, to say the least, dumbfounded. He felt his throat get all caught up, and his breath ceased. His hands that encased her face were empty, holding air as she buried herself in his chest.

"I suppose you aren't as curious," he said with a tone that she could barely register as disappointment. He didn't seem too angry as he closed his eyes for a few moments before settling with a brief, "That's fine." His hands held her shoulders gently as he pulled back, and Kisara was left to briefly catch a glance of his oddly amused face. Perhaps he thought the situation so ridiculous that it wasn't worth being upset over. He thinly half-smiled and turned to exit himself from the pool and away from the troublesome situation.

"Wait!" Kisara shouted at his back. He paused but didn't turn. She added, "What do you mean by curious? You're confusing me...I'm sorry if I don't understand."

"It's fine if you don't," Seto turned to face her, and much to his surprise, she waded a lot closer. It would seem that she had floated over close enough that when he turned around, he found himself an inch away from her. He looked away from those haunting eyes of hers and mentioned, "I just want to know if it feels any different."

"That's it?" Kisara asked dubiously. She furrowed her eyebrows as she continued interrogating, "That's your only reason? You just want to compare me to every other woman you've kissed?"

Seto faced her with no emotion. She completely misinterpreted him, but he would take it. He didn't have it in him to reason anything else, to tell her that he could possibly want to be intimate for more valid reasons. He wasn't comfortable enough to confess something like that, because he wasn't sure if he even could. In the end, he chose to agree, "Yes."

Kisara was hoping for a different answer, and she couldn't read him well enough to determine if what he said was true. She didn't expect him to be _this_ blunt, but it was in line with his nature, and she thought herself a fool for thinking that he wanted her in another way.

"Do you not feel the same way?" Seto spoke as nothing came from her.

Kisara wanted to say _of course not_. She didn't want to kiss him just because they shared a whole other life in some ancient time and that it could possibly make physical affection more special and more different. It was more than that, but it looked like he couldn't handle any deeper reason. He easily brushed off her rejection, as if it didn't bother him in the slightest. In retrospect, he _couldn't care less_.

She would give him that same apathy.

Her face met his in one swift motion as her nimble hands went upwards to hold his face. She could feel his jawline clench underneath her palms as she offered him what was perhaps the quickest and most careless kiss she had ever cursed upon anyone. It was one out of spite, over in one second of their lives, with little spark as only the outermost layer of their stone lips could feel. Not even a sound was made as she extracted herself from him, and not even their eyes were shut to take in what didn't exist.

"There. Interpret that as you wish," Kisara coldly said. She veered away, turning her back on him as she headed towards the pool wall. Her eyes were low, however, as feelings of disappointment and hope for more fought each other again. He was impossible.

As one hand of hers gripped on the edge, she felt herself pulled back by one strong hold on her other arm.

Kisara found herself thrust into that same enthralling warmth of his. His right hand moved down from her forearm to slip through her fingers, to which she instinctively returned the gesture by closing her fingers through his. Her right hand raised up to stabilize against his left chest, over his beating heart, the one that had always been there. Her eyes widened as she stared up towards that dreadfully handsome face of his, which appeared as quizzical as hers. His free hand supported the back of her waist, light and unassuming, only enough to prevent her from crashing back.

If there was one thing that Seto wanted to admit to her the most, it was that he didn't kiss just anyone, that he was lying about only comparing her, and that he desired to look past their history in favor of enjoying her present self. He didn't want their past as an excuse for current advances, but he simply couldn't admit that he wanted her in fear of himself. Yet, his mouth couldn't communicate his inner dialogue, and he could only hopelessly and awkwardly stare into the abyss of her blank stare. He thought to himself that it would be more efficient if he could just telepathically communicate his incomprehensible feelings. Unfortunately, that wasn't the least bit possible.

"Say no," he begrudgingly instructed, giving her a chance to stop him from his idiotic advances. Instead, her response was simply a tighter squeeze from the hand that held his underwater, one that could only be felt and not seen, so familiar in warmth, and one that invited his next course of action.

Kisara felt herself being pushed against the wall, her back squarely against it as those lips of his that she had only admired visually before returned for a more satisfying meeting with hers. Her eyes gave away to the sudden feeling of euphoria erupting in her head as she shut them close. He had given her more than she deserved from the first kiss, making small movements back and forth. However, his attempts felt calculated and cautionary, as if he didn't have the experience or gust to deepen his kiss. The gentle hesitation, yet genuine intent to close himself on her amused her to no end, and she could feel the ends of her mouth slightly curl up.

The hand of hers that was against his heart moved upwards to embrace around his neck, indicating that she wanted more than his soft approach. In a more obvious attempt, her lips barely parted, inciting his tongue to entertain her and perhaps to relax a bit more. Just as the tip of his tongue barely contact the enamel of her front teeth, he immediately pulled back, and the fervent sensation the two shared was solely undone.

Kisara's breathing had become shallow, and her eyes flew open like she had awoken from one of her nightmares. Seto's eyes opened too, but they gazed into hers with more want than the usual denial. For the first time since she knew him, he looked completely and utterly in crisis. Those cobalt blue eyes of his were rounded and wide with inexplicable emotion, trying to search for every reason as to why he was doing this. His breathing too was quite fast, and he resorted to catching oxygen through his parted mouth.

She wanted to ask what was wrong despite knowing full well what they were doing was entirely against either logical senses. Before she could, however, he pulled up that hand of hers that he had been holding for so long to around his neck. Now both of her arms were wrapped around, and he had her in a better position.

With one hand still around her back, he used the other to prop one leg of hers around his own waist, edging himself even closer to her body and forcing more of her against the wall. He repeated the same action with her other leg, raising her eye level above his own as she floated upwards. Her legs were evidently soft even in their current environment, and in the moment, he dreamed of running his hand along them for longer than the time he took to wrap her legs around him. His action was so swift it earned him a surprised gasp from her.

That frightfully endearing sound was a reminder that he had gone too far. He had succumbed to his physical wants more than he should have allowed himself to, and he was entering that state of mind where he dared to challenge his own limits. He nearly surrendered himself completely as he cautiously leaned over and let his lips barely touch her warm neck, and his nose became acquainted with the scent of chlorine. Seto thought about how easy it would be to simply push his tongue against her delicate flesh and evoke imaginative moans from her, ones that could accompany the symphony of madness resounding in his head.

But Seto wasn't _that_ easy.

 _This_ was the complication he couldn't have and the reality of it all came crashing down as heavy as a piano off a hundred foot building. He chose to pull himself back and take one good look at the woman, having to look up from how he held her. His eyes trailed south away from those pretty eyes, past those capable lips he had indulged in, and landed regrettably on her chest, on the suggestion of them peeking through that thin swimsuit.

If he went further, he was afraid that he wouldn't hold back, that the dam he had constructed wouldn't uphold his determination.

So Seto pulled her arms away from him, causing Kisara to ungracefully lose her balance and fall back into the water. He didn't even apologize as he got out of the pool himself. He would've walked away immediately if he wasn't so soaked, thus he only stayed to hastily squeeze out what water he could from his pants and shirt.

Kisara was silent as she heard every drop of water hit the floor from him. She couldn't say anything because she could only reflect on what had happened. She felt herself slowly recede into the water, wanting to drown herself temporarily.

She had enough initiative to burst from the waters and scramble her way up the ledge. Kisara quickly grabbed her towel and ran towards the exit, where Seto had slunk away. She felt herself exposed as she shuddered from the sudden change from the warm musky air to the air conditioned freezer of the hotel hallway.

"Wait!"

Kisara was unsure if he would actually stop. It seemed like he wanted out of a situation that she needed answers about. To her surprise, he paused. His wet clothes made a small puddle on the nicely carpeted floor, and he made no attempt to turn around. She hurriedly ventured towards him and held her towel tightly around herself. Her breath was raspy as she breathed out, "You might not like that we talk a lot, but you can't just leave after...after…"

Her face was undoubtedly scarlet. Never before had she felt this way. Perhaps with her first boyfriend, but not even then did her heart want to plummet into hell and incinerate itself. Kisara's breathing sped up as she found herself too embarrassed to describe what had happened. Instead, her fingers curled around the cloth of his dress shirt sleeve and made a soft tug.

He pulled away with his back still to hers.

"I can do what I want," he bluntly replied, "and I'm afraid what I wanted before was just a result of my drunkenness."

"You said you were sober!" Kisara exclaimed.

"That's what drunk people say."

Kisara's breathing stabilized and the what of her body left her. She was tired. Her eyes closed momentarily as she hugged herself. She struggled to say, "I'm not playing this game."

Once she turned away, however, he himself had turned around and called out, "Kisara."

The heat that left her returned as she whirled around and practically blew up in his face, "What? If you want something then say it instead of-"

She found herself face front toward the screen of a phone. Her nose nearly collided with the screen as the blue lights shocked her eyes.

"I apologize if you believed I wanted something else when I proposed we meet up alone tonight. I'm aware it had unnecessary implications," Seto voiced in a tone so different from the one he used in the sauna. She hadn't heard that seriousness in a while. "And I believe what just happened adds to the confusion. However, I only really want one thing out of you tonight. This."

Kisara furrowed her eyebrows, feeling that she could go cross-eyed any second. He was like the typical shoujo tsundere, the typical cold-hearted bad boy corporate tycoon in dramas, and the asshole no one liked. She scoffed and said, "Don't tell me you can't read Japanese."

"Japanese?"

Seto looked at the screen of his phone. She had to be joking. What was displayed on his screen was a photo of the weird language he had encountered from the letter Serenity had given him. He had made sure to crop out the message. It was certainly not Japanese.

"Just read it to me."

Kisara shook her head as he shoved his phone screen in front of her face again.

"You're not the only one wasting someone else's time. I know you used to want to be the King of Games, but I didn't realize you liked playing with someone's feelings too," she refused.

"Fine. I'll answer anything you want if you just tell me what this says."

Kisara didn't want to trust him. It was funny how much she could tolerate. Her eyes dully viewed his screen as she painstakingly pronounced whatever was on the photo.

" **Ma-ha-do.** "

" _Mahad_?" Seto repeated her answer with such fear in his voice that it perplexed her.

"I said Mahado...although I guess if that's a foreign term, then Mahad would suffice," she reasoned, "What is that? Arabic?"

"Nothing...I don't know either," he said unsure. He turned his phone off and slid it back into his pockets. It probably wasn't a good idea to do so, as his pants were still damp. He swore that that name sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember well. He just knew it incited a nauseating feeling in his stomach. "Listen, Kisara-"

"Do you want to kiss me again? It's a yes or no. Nothing else."

So upfront. Seto thinned his lips, thinking her question too forthright to answer. What did she get out of a "yes" or "no?" No part of her body budged, and her eyes pierced right to his eyes. If he said no, he figured she would definitely leave. If he said yes, then that was certainly not an answer. He just didn't have the energy and comprehension to develop his feelings into word. Did she understand that? Was that why she asked such a simple question that required absolutely no explanation? Was she fine with his immense withholding and poor assessment of his own character? It didn't help that all the unexpected worry for her he had pent up started bubbling inside. Who the hell was following her? Who was Mahad? Why did he have the sick feeling that if he didn't act fast enough, she would dissipate again. Again. Again.

Why did _again_ matter?

It was nothing remotely romantic like the first time. Kissing in wet clothes and inside of a hotel hallway, that is.

But it sure felt like it.

It was like they left their feelings unsaid as they found themselves back in each other's arms. Shuddering from the air conditioning was quelled by their shared body heat. For all they talked about, with her jumbled understanding of relationships and his wishy washy wants, for one night, their complicated enigma of another life could wait again. Whether that was good or not would come crashing later. They only understood they wanted temporary bliss.

Seto had answered her with a swift return to her lips and a firm hold of his hands around the sides of her face, to which she was the one to deepen by pulling herself closer. She accepted his response by opening her mouth and letting his tongue explore her insides. She felt one hand of his leave her face and slip under wrapped towel and feel the skin of her exposed back. He handled her gently as he thoroughly enjoyed every texture he could feel inside of her mouth, and he relished in that one soft moan she barely breathed. Although seemingly explosive at the start, he was only tender with the same caution from before.

Like the first time, he was the first to pull away. Yet, he did not run away so easily this time. His face remained an inch away from hers as he softly stated, "I don't know."

Whatever was in his head, she would stop wondering about as she felt his grasp release, along with his presence. Once he was away, Kisara leaned her back against the wall.

It would have been nice to sleep with him again.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Sorry for the long wait. Life has been utterly busy, and I haven't had much time to sit down and write. However, this chapter is rather long, so I hope that somewhat makes up for it. Thanks a lot if you're still sticking around!

I don't know if the whole first kiss thing is too early, but I did leave it up unanswered in terms of how it defines their relationship, so there's still a lot to their future developments.

 **Review Responses:**

 **Guest:** Hopefully that cliffhanger was answered here!

 **MagiMana:** Yes, I absolutely love the idea of Joey being a good cook too. I like to think he cooks lots of meals for his little sister when he can. I'm thoroughly enjoying writing out Kaiba and Yugi's relationship too!

 **KraziReader:** Haha, them living together is definitely a potential ;) It would be fun if that happened. Thanks for taking the time to read!

 **Bleach power:** He should start accepting it more, haha! Glad you enjoyed the last chapter!

 **itxprincessxlala:** It's been so long since the last update, agh. I hope you're still around to read! There's definitely a mysterious element that will be piled on later!

 **vanene10:** Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I apologize that my updates are extremely infrequent, but I'm putting in as much effort as I can. I hope to add more intimate moments too.

 **Juella:** Oh Kaiba does not know what he wants most of the time, haha! Good luck with your life because I need the same for mine!

 **Guest:** Update very late!

 **Viridian1435:** Thanks for the follow and favorite! I'm still continuing this story, it's just taking a while due to life!

 **Sailor McJohn:** Ah, thank you for dropping a review and revisiting this story. I definitely have this story outlined to be quite lengthy, so their relationships is definitely something I'm not rushing. I hope your investment stays and you enjoy the current chapter!

 **Guest:** Thank you for understanding and reading! I'm trying my best to balance out my life.

 **Guest:** Thanks! I will!

 **Guest:** Here's the new chapter!

*Guest responses are ordered from earliest to latest guests.


	23. Chapter 22: Unizpped

After a pleasant breakfast at a swanky European restaurant the morning of the next day, there wasn't a hitch in the liveliness of the four in Seto's car. It was as if saying goodbye to one friend was nonexistent.

Mokuba sat in the passenger's seat this time, while Kisara and Serenity sat in the back. He twiddled his fingers against his chin and slyly suggested, "So what did you two do last night?"

Kisara was too busy shrieking with Serenity in the back whilst sharing memes to hear what Mokuba had asked.

"Define two," Seto flatly evaded.

"You and your past girlfriend," Mokuba teased and continued, "C'mon. You both weren't partying with us, and Duke mentioned he gave both of you keys to some new sauna."

"I never saw her," Seto lied, "I suppose we missed each other then."

"Huhhhh… guess I'm assuming too wildly."

"Yes. You are."

"She's too good for you, anyways," Mokuba muttered before sharply turning to the back and whipping out his phone to show the girls his own set of memes.

Seto honestly wanted to know what Mokuba meant by that. If anything, his brother probably meant that statement as a joke. The problem was that, for some reason, he had the aching feeling that she probably was. For as how confident and arrogant he was on the outside, and how much of that facade was actually melded into his disposition, he feared he wouldn't have the time and emotional capacity to care for someone the way he had last night.

* * *

They had reached the KaibaCorp Airport, where Seto and Mokuba usually departed via private planes and jets and other shipments for the company were flown in and out. The sky was true blue, with no clouds except for sky trails from the sailing planes above. For a day of departure, the weather was pleasant enough that perhaps someone's leave would not be messed, but wistfully celebrated.

Everyone was there, including the rest of the group that had wished to see the younger Kaiba brother head off to America.

Mokuba took in a huge breath the moment he stepped out of the car. Several workers rushed over to take his belongings from the trunk and transfer them to the private plane he would be in soon. He leaned against the car and smiled as he looked up.

He giddily joked, "Such a beautiful day! I'm glad this'll be the last day I see Domino for a while. Couldn't ask for more perfect weather."

"You sound like an old man," Serenity giggled as she too stepped out. She leaned against his shoulder, as she volunteered to gaze at the sky above them.

"Let's grow old together."

Serenity found that that simple line got to her more than it should have. She knew he was joking as usual, but the idea of dedicating her life to someone, especially when that someone was as wonderful as Mokuba, was alarmingly sweet to fantasize about.

"I'm serious," Mokuba softly continued. His eyes tore away from the sky in order to look to the side, where his girlfriend had the cutest confused look. He said, "I know I joke a lot, and I've probably said "I love you" more during our relationship than Joey has to you in his entire lifetime, but it's honestly something I've thought about."

"You don't mean…"

"Marriage?" Mokuba chuckled as he saw Serenity's face blush a bit. He shook his head and reassured, "Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have a ring with me. It's just been a wild ride with you, that's all. It's been one damn good one."

"Now you sound like things will be over once you leave," Serenity commented somberly.

"Yeah it will."

"W-what?"

"At least some things…like doing this!"

Mokuba suddenly pinched Serenity's cheeks and affectionately held on as Serenity protested by initially howling and releasing a stream of insults.

Seto winced at the manner in which the couple had decided to partake in. It was cringy at best, and he wanted nothing more but to fade away. He couldn't walk away, as he needed to stay around to wave Mokuba off.

"I envy them," Kisara mentioned. She too had taken notice. She was far more accustomed to the cheesy lines exchanged between Mokuba and Serenity, as she was often an audience member of Mokuba's visits to their apartment.

"Then it wouldn't take much to make you jealous," he pointed out. A part of him wished he hadn't said anything, or at least not have said an insult.

"Sometimes," Kisara wavered, "something as easy as a cheesy romcom relationship is better than an awfully long string of dramatic soap opera disappointments."

"A cheesy romcom relationship doesn't last any longer than other kinds of relationships."

"But I don't think you tried to separate them as you claimed you would before," Kisara thoughtfully provided. He glanced at her, catching a slight smirk before she turned away.

Seto watched Kisara stride over to Mokuba and Serenity and gleefully ruin the romantic atmosphere. He let her words sink in as he followed the three towards the rest of the group. Joey, Mai, and Yugi waved as the other three arrived.

Seto found himself at a distance from the rest of the group. It had always been that way. He figured no matter how many times his brother would force him to canoodle with the once proclaimed dweeb patrol, he would never have a place in the group. He instead passed the time on his phone, not even bothering to try and comprehend the various bits of broken and raucous conversation exchanged between the group.

 _But I don't think you tried to separate them as you claimed you would before._

Her words always hit him worse than he should have let them. Seto huffed and walked over towards the group.

"Mokuba. A word."

"Hmm?" Mokuba waved off everyone else as he jogged over to the side where Seto had retreated. The rest of the group paid no attention, collectively believing that Seto would prefer to pour out actual emotions privately to his brother.

"What's up, bro?" Mokuba peered and grinned, "Gonna tell me you'll miss me or are you gonna give me the same responsibility speech you've repeated the past month?"

"Tch," Seto scoffed but his face was amused, "I've given up on the responsibility speech."

"Aight! Then it's a "I'll miss you, boohoo" speech!"

"As if," Seto rolled his eyes. He more seriously discerned, "I've been hiding something."

"Hm?"

"I," Seto crosses his arms as he faced his brother. He never wanted this conversation. For as long as he wanted his brother to share every life detail of his, he could never do the same. It was a system with a clear power imbalance, and he didn't want this anymore. He continued, "I had something with someone until a year ago."

"Huh?" Mokuba confusedly offered, "Like a business deal?"

"'No. Like a," Seto repeated, "Like a...relationship of sorts. I suppose."

"EGHHHH?!"

Everyone else looked over to see Mokuba panic. The young man was grasping at his own hair like a mad man. One hand of his was pointing accusingly at Seto. They were a distance where they couldn't hear the specifics of their conversation.

Mokuba shrieked, "With like a whole _human_?!"

"Yes."

"Like a woman?"

"Despite what some media say, yes."

Mokuba glared dumbfounded at Seto. In truth, he should have been a little mad. But, his current curiosity was far stronger. He quickly asked, "Who is she? How the hell did you hide her from me? How long? Why are you telling me this now?!"

"I'm not going to disclose her identity for both our sakes. I'm telling you this now because...because eventually it won't be something I can bury anymore."

Mokuba listened intently. This was so new to him. To think his brother had even thought of someone intimately amazed him. It was like a whole new species of Seto Kaiba.

"Look. It was something off and on for maybe 3 years."

"3 YEARS?!" Mokuba widened his eyes and clamped his mouth shut before composing himself. He dramatically whispered, "3 years, the fuck?!"

"Yes," Seto answered in a disenchanted manner, "She moved out of Japan. It was hard keeping in touch with her. At first it was easy, though I admit. But you know how around that time, corporate stuff got extremely bad. I couldn't handle having to care for someone so far away when I didn't have time or the initial ability to anyways, and her career got worse too."

"Are you trying to say…"

"I'm trying to warn you, Mokuba. I could...I could talk for hours about this one thing I've kept to myself, so I'm trying my hardest to keep this short and clear. It wasn't Serenity I didn't like. It was the fact that you're so infatuated by her that if things go wrong, you're not going to be strong enough to properly handle a life in a new country. I wanted you to be your best self in America and not have something like a woman to worry about back home."

"Seto," Mokuba addressed seriously. With a determined expression, he stated, "I know it'll be tough, but I'm gonna find that balance! Long-distance is tough, I know, but I really think things will work!"

"Do you not think I had the same notion transitioning to long-distance either?" Seto coldly responded, "I cared for her more than I've been able to properly accept. I didn't know it at the time, but I did so much for her that my actions spoke for themselves. If I never had her in the first place, I _never_ would have been as broken as I was when we split. I would have been able to handle all those corporate scandals just fine if I didn't have _her_ constantly nagging my head. I wouldn't have needed that damn therapist, who I couldn't even share about _her_. Because the fact that _I,_ Seto Kaiba, let someone get to my head that badly was enough to silence me in shame."

"But we're different people. We might be brothers, but we're different," Mokuba offered calmly. There were few times that they ever had conversations like this, especially when it was coming from Seto.

"Yes. I know," Seto now more warmly said, "Which is why I admit my parallel to you and Serenity is incorrect. It's not something I should have been doing, but I wanted to explain why I've been quite callous towards your girlfriend. I realize it's been wrong. I...I wish nothing but the best for you and Serenity in the end. And if things do end sourly, I trust that you can handle things better than I ever did."

"Did it take just yourself to change your mind?" Mokuba mischievously questioned. An impish grin suddenly emerged on his face, a stark contrast to his brother's now perplexed face. He explained, "Honestly I'm glad you dated someone seriously. Damn...3 years…"

"On and off."

"Even then. It's something I'm happily surprised about. I'm sure it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, heck you really don't know yourself, Seto. But. I'm hoping that you do more now."

"Where is this going?"

"Because after making a mistake or two with _that_ girl, I'm hoping you can learn to correct yourself when it comes to the person that helped you change your mind about me and Serenity."

Seto would have asked who. But he knew well enough who Mokuba was referring to. Both their eyes drifted toward the group, toward the white haired woman laughing with the rest of the group. His head started to think about last night. About that other night they shared a bed. Hell, about their first encounter. He dejectedly stated, "It's not going to happen. We have extraordinary consequences that are far more worse than whatever I had with that other woman."

Mokuba sighed and shrugged. He argued, "Why not? I know I said she was too good for you, but that really was a joke. I don't just see the way you look at her, Seto, I see the way you speak and act _with_ her. With this new information you just dumped on me, now I know you really are capable of loving someone. Someone other than me! C'mon!"

"Why are you getting so whiny?"

"Because you guys look soooo cute together!" Mokuba raved as he slammed both his palms against Seto's shoulders. He started shaking his brother back and forth as he continued whining, "The tough, bad boy CEO with a secret heart of gold and romanticist ideals warms up to a beautiful, poor woman with a tragic past of terrible boyfriends! Together, they learn to love each other and mediate each other's psychologically broken pasts!"

"Holy shit, forget about an "I miss you speech"! I'm not sending you any of those care packages you kept begging for either!"

The Kaiba brothers ended up in a playful scuffle with one another as further shouts and disputes exploded between them. It reached other topics beyond women, and it was a spectacle to peer for the rest of the group.

"Oi, I ain't da only one that wants more time with Mokuba, eh?" Joey chided as he continued to observe the two. He shrugged and announced, "I'm comin' in!"

"Joey, no!" Mai reached out to grab him back, but he was too nimble and started heading toward the Kaiba brothers.

"Hey, I'm gonna miss the man of the hour too!" Yugi waved to Mai and followed suit.

Kisara and Serenity laughed as they too ran after the guys, with a reluctant Mai trailing behind.

"Come here, ya filthy animal!" Joey gleefully screamed as he lunged from behind and head-locked Mokuba. His other hand happily resided to heavily rubbing his hair.

"I can't believe another one of us is leaving!" Yugi exclaimed as he generously hugged a protesting Mokuba.

"Bakura, Tristan, Téa…" Mai listed on the side. She sniffed before copying the others by adding onto the hug pile and shouting, "And now the baby of the group!" Serenity laughed at the sight of the group all piled up, excitedly joining.

Kisara smirked as she snapped a shot of the whole situation on her phone, admiring how everyone was joyous despite the reality. She truly could not believe she belonged to such a remarkable and idiotic group of friends. Her heart grew warm as she peered at her phone. She was overwhelmed with a rush of gratitude.

"Aren't you joining them?"

She peered over to Seto, who had assumed she would also congregate. Kisara shook her head and joked, "Wouldn't want to leave you out again."

"I don't care."

"Psh."

"Hey guys, you can't avoid us!" Mokuba slipped through the messy pile of people and grabbed both of Seto and Kisara's arms. He unexpectedly seized both of them into a hug, with each person in each arm of his. The others piled on and the whole thing turned into one massive and disoriented group embrace. Seto shut his eyes in frustration and at first wished for it all to be over quickly. However, he felt himself almost...content. There was something about being part of a group, something that he usually never bothered with that made himself quite elated. It would always feel different for him - for someone who had been the lone leader of a corporation for the longest time and barely having the time to spend with people aside from his business partners.

It was especially odd to find himself grateful when he was being surrounded by the same group of people he found so irritating all those years ago and even until now. However, the present experiences he had with them came with a different type of irritation, a more tolerable and almost amusing one. Seto opened his eyes wide at the sudden shift in his code. He looked over to this side to find Kisara glaring up at him with huge eyes. She quickly looked away.

Was it always this nice to be surrounded by people? Or was it just a sentiment derived from years of being alone?

And how many of them actually cared for him? They were, after all, friends of his brother and not him.

Seto cleared his throat and rightfully forced himself away from Mokuba, causing the disassembling of the whole group hug. He declared, "I thought you wanted to leave us so badly but here you are stalling your departure, Mokuba."

Mokuba could only laugh and state, "Can I help it? I want to take each one of you with me!"

The rest of the time was spent by each individual bading their appropriate farewells to Mokuba. Seto felt nothing as he watched the plane lift from the walkway. It had always been this way. Numbing himself when the initial loss happened. He wasn't aware at the time that when he would come to an empty apartment, the feeling of loneliness would actually sting.

* * *

"Oi, Serenity. You left some things at our apartment when you slept over before, remember?" Joey said as everyone else was walking back towards their cars, "Ya wanna come by right now to pick up those things, and I'll drive ya back later?"

"Hmm…sure!" Serenity agreed as she rushed over to Joey's car. Joey watched Kisara head towards Seto's car. He shouted, "KISA-"

"Don't!" Serenity smacked her palm over her brother's mouth, who was duly shocked by his sister's sudden aggression. Joey coughed as he pulled away.

"What was that for?!"

"Kisara is super tired, let her go home with Kaiba."

"She can just sleep in my car while ya get your things. I might like Kaiba a bit more now, but I got a bone to pick with him when it comes to Kisara."

"Joey that's nonsense. Let's go," Serenity huffed as she stubbornly opened the driver's door of the car and forcibly stuffed Joey, who was too respectful of his sister to fight back. She chuckled as she shut the door and got in the back.

* * *

To say it was awkward between the two was an underestimation. Neither had the opportunity to be truly alone since the night before, and neither knew for sure if they wanted to be alone again. Kisara unknowingly had her arms crossed the entire time, and her eyes glared lazily out the window, finding sudden interest in the same cityscape she had seen countless times before.

It was easier for Seto to keep his mind off of the person sitting in the back when he focused on driving. She had opted to sit there instead of the passenger's seat. He didn't dare waste his mental energy on figuring out why she did so.

Kisara's head was running in circles with how she should approach a conversation with him. She simultaneously wanted to ignore and acknowledge everything, but was he not sick of all the talking as she was? Perhaps it really was nothing. If they couldn't talk about what had happened, then there was nothing to develop.

The only moment she could finally utter a word was when he had pulled into her apartment complex.

"Thanks," she lightly mentioned with obvious uneasiness.

Once she stepped out the door, however, Seto too had stepped out and shut his door.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll keep you company on the way up," he flatly answered.

Kisara wanted to question more, but she was afraid that he would leave. It surprised her she didn't want him to go. She simply nodded her head and gripped her purse. Her back was to his as she traversed upwards the stairs of her complex, and her face contorted into panic. It was not that she feared him, but his behavior was so peculiar it drove her insane.

When she was at the top of the stairs, she suddenly whipped around and stared down toward him. Kisara declared, "Do you want to talk?"

"Are you really living with Yugi?"

His voice was deadpanned as he answered her question with one of his own. Kisara huffed in annoyance and replied, "That's highly irrelevant to what we should be talking about."

"Can you not find someone else to split rent with?"

"That's none of your concern."

"It might not be of my concern," Seto denied, "but it's in your best interest to live somewhere else."

"And where would that be?" Kisara doubtfully asked.

"My place."

No hint of emotion. Kisara scoffed. Her lips curled up into a smile, and she found herself in a bout of laughter. She held her hand over her exposed mouth as she kept herself from flying off the balcony.

"You _are_ a funny guy," she mused. Kisara turned on heels and got ready to briskly leave towards her apartment.

"Wait!"

She felt herself held back. He had laced his hand around her wrist in a motion so sudden that it had freaked him out too. It made her stop moving, and it made Seto immediately let go. The last thing he wanted to be when it came to her was predatory.

"Kisara," he addressed as he stepped up, looking down at her from their normal height difference, "If your hallucinations are getting worse, it would be better if you lived somewhere that you could get immediate medical help and security."

"The ambulance and police exist for us peasants too," she sarcastically said.

"Not as fast and efficient as my personal teams. As unfortunate as it is, there is a clear difference between public and private services."

"How do you know they got worse? Why do you think I need "security?"

This was where he didn't want to touch upon. It seemed that Serenity did not want Kisara knowing she had gone to Seto for help. He also remembered that Kisara had no knowledge of the threat against her or who Mahad was. Not that he was entirely sure of what the latter was either.

Seto needlessly answered, "Because I've been having hallucinations too, and I have a feeling you've had the same ones."

"We've already established we have weird ESP, Seto," she pointed out, "I know that you know-"

"Not about us, Kisara," he cut her off. They never got around to talking about the past, but it was enough indication based on unreasonable feelings that they already shared the past together. This was when he got around to lying, "but I feel like someone is watching me. Hunting me. Don't tell me it's not happening to you either because I don't want to deal with this alone."

"You too?" Kisara softly whispered. Her face grew into concern, and her mere sincerity made him curse at his own deviousness. He didn't want to resort to manipulation, but at a greater and more secret degree, he didn't want her disappearing one day with no answers left to him.

"So I suppose," he sighed, "Asking you to live with me isn't just out of your own concern. I need someone to keep me sane when Mokuba has just left."

"I thought I drove you insane."

"Which is why I'm desperate."

Kisara skeptically asked, "Do you really mean it? You're not...you're not someone who would admit he's desperate."

"Listen..I despise any notion of magic and hoodwinks. However, I have seen some fairly believable shit associated with whatever we're experiencing, and I-" Seto started getting tired of himself. He was running on half-truths and half-lies, and he could only hope he still sounded cohesive, "and if I have to deal with all that again, I'd rather it be with you this time."

Kisara herself loathed how his words could get to her. She knew he didn't mean it to be personally her that he wanted. He must have meant it in a logical sense. She just happened to mirror his experiences with her hallucinations, and she figured if he had any plan to rid of them, he would at least start with someone like him.

"What about rent? I can't pay much, but just tell me the price and I'll consider it."

"Don't take price into your consideration. Spend that money you would've used on rent for something else."

"I can't just turn up empty handed."

"I knew you would pull this," Seto shook his head and insisted, "Then keep the apartment clean or something...although that's quite difficult with from what I've seen of your room."

Kisara chuckled nervously. Her hand tugged at the ends of her long hair, unsure if she should agree on the spot. She believed that she had caught him during a rare moment, however, but because it was so rare, she was afraid if was fleeting as well.

"Hey, um," she asked, "Do you want to have tea again? This is a lot to take in at the moment and I'd rather we do this indoors."

"That would be fine."

Kisara nodded as she walked towards her apartment.

What was he doing?

He had clearly shot down Serenity's proposal the other day, yet here he was following suit. Seto glared at the back of her head, wondering why he was at an odds against himself with her again. He knew if was an awful idea, but the discovery of the name "Mahad" urged him otherwise. It was so familiar yet so indifferent that it had disturbed him all night. What he should have done was a quick Google search, but even when "Mahad" occupied the bulk of his thoughts, so did Kisara.

Seto's head tried to retrieve any information remotely related to that name. He was quite sure he once knew something like that, but it felt like it had been pushed towards the deepest archives of his mental library, and it would take a miracle to absolve him of his forgetfulness. His head was so stuffed with mystery that he didn't realize he had followed her so silently into her apartment, that he sat down at her small kitchen table, and that she had set the tea in front him already until she herself spoke up.

"I could cook your meals," she suddenly offered.

Seto blinked as he locked eyes with her, not even touching his tea cup. He said, "You don't have to do that."

"I think I do. There was, um," she carefully recalled, "a lot of instant and takeout food last time I happened to see in your fridge. It's not too hard to cook. I meal prep for Serenity all the time."

Before he could bother to respond, she quickly added, "But I don't think that's enough for such a nice apartment! I'll try my best to be clean, and I'll definitely cook…."

"I own the apartment," he dryly stated, "Your rent is literally nothing to me and my finances. I spend more time at KaibaCorp, and you have your part-time job too. You wouldn't be a bother."

"If you don't want money...then what could I offer you?" Kisara quietly asked, to both him and herself.

He really didn't want to insist anymore. He was frustrating himself too. Seto instead silently reached for his cup. Once one hand wrapped around the cup, Kisara reached with her own hand towards his and gently cupped his hand. Her thumb started rubbing circles against his own skin, which sent unwarranted shivers down his spine. This caught him so off-guard that he could only blankly stare up.

In a low, sweet and syrupy voice, she chided, "I'm sure someone as tired as you would like to come home to someone that can...relax you a bit."

Seto found that she had forced his hand away from the cup. She had opted to pull his hand a bit farther. The square table was small enough for his arm to reach her face. Kisara forced the palm of his hand to cup her cheek as she continued giving him a doe face.

"Last night was nothing compared to what I can do now with you. I'll make my living... _worth it_."

She was a _freak._ Absolutely mad. Seto's hand was practically glued onto her face from the sheer fact that he was immobile. She wasn't the first woman to offer something of the like, but she certainly wasn't someone he would expect to propose such a prospect. With all the others that had offered themselves to him, it was an easy refusal because they were simply nobodies. But she was somebody, and it disturbed him that he would even consider the offer.

Seto narrowed his eyes. This wasn't like her. As he studied her face, he realized she was pulling a prank on him. She was doing a surprisingly decent job of keeping a poker face. He didn't like being played around, so he figured he would play her game.

"Then," he feigned a cold, raspy voice, "if you are offering yourself to me…"

Seto waved her hand away, but he kept is hand on her cheek. Eventually, his hand slid down towards her chin. He slowly rose from his chair, maintaining his hold on her. Her poker face was falling apart. He leaned his body over and lifted her pretty face by the chin.

Seto lowered his face toward her ear and breathily whispered, "...I'd gladly take you on this table."

"W-wait-"

"Shh," Seto quickly hushed as his hand wrapped around her mouth this time. He continued, "I like my women submissive. I like control. I like that I don't have to go around finding someone else to be the billionaire's play toy."

"EEEEUUGHHHHH!" Kisara screamed frantically and knocked his hand away. In a panicked manner, she shrieked, "Is this 50 Shades of Grey or something?! Honestly, if you're really like that, Seto, I don't want to live with you!"

Once he returned to his seat, he amusedly smiled.

"Why are you smiling?! That was sooo creepy!"

Seto's smile fell. He cleared his throat and argued, "Shut up. I was just playing along with your stupid joke. You have no right to be upset with me, and honestly, what if I _was_ a sadistic nymphomaniac who took advantage of your offer?"

"T-then I would've just laughed at you and admitted it was a joke! And maybe kick you out from my life entirely!"

"Did you really think you could intimidate me with sex?"

"Well, it-" Kisara stopped herself from continuing a statement that would surely offend him. Her face was so perplexed that it intrigued him.

"It what?"

"I-it seemed that way last night," she admitted. Kisara's eyes darted towards her tea cup, embarrassed.

"...And what about it?"

The previous lighthearted atmosphere was dampened by an air of seriousness.

Kisara slowly said, "I-I don't know. I-I guess I wasn't used to someone being so gentle with me in a while. Not that it _couldn't_ have been more intense. I-I mean, I think we were about to be there if you didn't-"

"Stop."

"Yeah-"

"No. I mean seriously, stop. Get to your point."

"You kiss funny," she flatly hit.

Seto didn't know how to respond to that. Did she really detect his inexperience so easily? He retorted, "Are you some kissing expert?"

"I have the experience," she said matter-of-factly.

"Didn't seem that way," he snorted, "You were grinning too much."

"Because you were so bad, it made me laugh!"

Seto couldn't believe she was resorting to cheap denial. However, he was slightly worried. He couldn't possibly be that bad, could he? Objectively, she wasn't bad at all. She probably did have more experience than a cooped up workaholic CEO.

"Then enlighten me," he raised. Seto leaned back snugly against his chair and challenged, "If _you_ were _me_ , how would you have gone about it?"

He was goading her. He was expecting her to crumble. Kisara really couldn't explain herself. She wasn't exactly lying when she openly detected his apprehension when it came to the art of kissing. As stubborn as she was, she abruptly stood up and frigidly walked over to his side of the table.

"S-stand up," she nervously instructed.

"Wow," Seto shook his head and crossed his arms, refusing to stand. He chuckled and looked away as he snidely said, "You're not doing a good job of convincing me otherwise with _that_ charisma."

Before he knew it, he felt a heavy weight on his lap. He felt her hands whisk his face towards hers. His lips slightly parted more in shock at her boldness than in welcome for her tongue slightly impeding his mouth. Her soft hands gently gripped the sides of his face. She must have known herself too gutsy, as she pulled away quickly with a horrified expression on her face.

"Sorry…" she softly said, "I just-"

"Don't be."

Seto held her down to stay in his lap by wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer against his chest. He closed the distance himself and pressed his lips against hers. He was as gentle as before because he truly couldn't force himself on her so roughly.

Given the opportunity again, Kisara didn't fade back this time around. As nice as he was, she took advantage of that as she pressed herself against him further, edging herself closer to his chest and pressuring him from her side that his head leaned back a bit. While his hands were on her back, one hand of hers remained on his face and the other trailed behind to indulge in the softness of his hair.

After a decent amount of time feeling each other's mouths, Seto's fingers ran across the cold metal of her dress zipper, north towards the opening. His stomach was churning with unparalleled nervousness, and his heart felt as if it could leap out of his soul from how illogically his body was reacting - how his mind could easily slip into pleasure at her expense.

Kisara scattered away as soon as she heard the usual footsteps in front of her door. Before her roommate could even plug her key in, she had instinctively opened the door for Serenity.

"Serenity!" Kisara leapt out and pulled her into a tight embrace as she squealed, "Haven't seen you in so long, haha!"

"Um…I love you too?" Serenity chuckled and returned the hug. She politely pulled away in favor of entering the apartment. To her surprise, she found Seto at the kitchen table, appearing the usual with his blank expression. It seemed that he was enjoying some tea Kisara had made. She said, "Oh hey, Kaiba. What are you doing here?"

He couldn't even respond without Kisara interrupting giddily, "I just asked him to stay for tea as thanks for the ride back. I guess we got carried away with our conversation."

"Do you guys like each other that much?" Serenity laughed teasingly. She eyed Seto before turning to Kisara and asking, "What did you guys talk about?"

Again, Kisara chose to speak, "We were just talking about how I was going to live with Yugi."

"Really?" Serenity and Seto simultaneously asked. They glanced at one another. On one hand, Serenity never knew he even asked Kisara in the first place. She figured he was only questioning her in the same judgemental attitude he had about everyone else. Seto, however, couldn't understand why she didn't take up on his offer. It was leagues better than whatever apartment Yugi was living in, and he had even given plausible reasons.

"Yeah…" Kisara at first appeared to be answering Serenity. Her head slowly reversed to Seto. He didn't give much away to his ideas. She continued her answer by staring at him, as if he were the only other person in the room, "I've already decided."

"I have to go."

Serenity watched Seto calmly stand up. It was an eerie sureness, as if he was trying to control every fiber of his being. Perhaps she was just imagining things. As the two women watched him slide on his shoes, Serenity couldn't help but question, "Kaiba. Did you have any opinion about Kisara's living situation?"

Kisara shot a perplexed look at her friend, who ignored her and kept looking at Seto. There was something going on.

"No," he simply answered with his back towards them. Seto unlocked the door and stepped out. Before entirely leaving, he looked back, towards the girl with the annoying blue eyes and white hair as he lastly said, "Why would I?"

He shut the door himself.

Kisara relieved a huge breath and started walking back towards her room, wanting to avoid any interrogation. Serenity was close enough to her to understand that there were boundaries she couldn't cross. However, she had it in her right mind to clearly announce something otherwise inadmissible.

"Your dress is unzipped."

Kisara paused. She should have been horrified, but she was too furious at herself that she had gone to the point of exhaustion. One hand gripped her door frame as the other ran behind her back. His fingers had undone her dress to more than half of the zipper's length.

"I know.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Happy holidays, everyone! I don't know if I'll get to uploading a new chapter before the New Year, so happy New Year's too! I wrote a lot of chapters for Lost Marigolds in 2019, and I really hope I won't slow down in 2020, but university is definitely more intense than the past year. I'll try to squeeze out as much as I can. For now, I hope you enjoy reading!

 **Review Responses**

 **Sailor McJohn:** Oh gosh, thank you so much for looking forward to new chapters. It makes me feel all warm that someone is anticipating this story to continue! Yes, I find Duke someone kind of fun to write about, but definitely not someone I would find agreeable. Hoping that you continue reading!

 **vanene10:** Mahad's role will definitely be cleared soon! I can't wait for all the things I plan for his arc! Thanks for reading!

 **Guest:** Haha, I don't know if I'm all that but thank you for liking my story!

 **Bleach power:** You'll just have to wait and see with Mahad. I won't say much but I'm excited to write about him! Thank you for continuously reading and reviewing!

 **Viridian1435:** Their relationship is definitely building little by little even with drawbacks! Hopefully I can making it flourish! Thank you!

 **itxprincessxlala:** Thanks for sticking around! Agh, I'm glad the kiss was something you loved. Ooh, I've never been at the Hoshinoya Tokyo, but the place looks beautiful and so serene from what I see online. I haven't given up on the story, but it is definitely taking longer from how life is hitting. Thank you so much for being a loyal reader and reviewer!


	24. Chapter 23: Flowers

"I guess I'll see you at my apartment later," Yugi waved off to Seto as the two finished another trial run of his recent developments for his new game. He started furiously typing up today's report into a database, expecting Seto to simply comply and leave. To his surprise, Seto remained by his side.

"Why would I be at your apartment?" Seto inquired.

"For Kisara's house warming party? It's just the usual group though. Nothing big."

"Oh. I won't be there," Seto shortly answered. He had nearly forgotten Kisara was supposed to live with Yugi. He had been ignoring her for a while that he never knew if she had already.

"I don't see why you wouldn't go. You've been around us for so long. I know Mokuba isn't here anymore, but it's not like you hate everyone," Yugi mentioned and stopped typing. He looked over to his side to see Seto not even paying attention to him. The CEO was blissfully playing Solitaire on the computer adjacent to Yugi's.

"Maybe I just don't care anymore without my brother's presence."

"We want you there even if Mokuba's gone."

"You don't speak for everyone."

"Well, I want you there. Pretty sure Kisara would since she asked you...wait, did she invite you?" Yugi asked with suspicion and one raised brow. He had only assumed she would from how amiable they appeared to be. He was going to have another headache if they were having some other complication that could easily be resolved if stubbornness didn't exist in both parties.

Seto glared at Solitaire, finding it a bore as a card game as he easily won against the computer. He carelessly admitted, "No. She didn't."

"But I remember her telling me that she would-"

"I've been ignoring her, including any texts or calls, these past two weeks. So, yes, maybe she has, but I wouldn't know," Seto unleashed with a bit of bitterness in his tone.

"Eh? What did she do to get the silent treatment?"

"Nothing I want to relay to you."

"Well if it's between you two, then settle it already."

"What are you? My mom?"

"No. Just a friend who doesn't like it when friends fight."

"Oh boohoo, spare me your friendship speech," Seto snidely stated. He finally exited out of Solitaire and reversed his head toward Yugi. The other man looked completely done, as if he was tired of Seto's usual attitudes.

"Sure. But I'll leave this," Yugi sighed as he started prepping his leave from work, "You're petty, Kaiba, and even if you're self-aware, you don't do anything to fix it yourself. You have my welcome to my apartment tonight, with or without Kisara's permission. I'll send you the address. If you don't come, at least reply back to her over text like a decent human being. See ya."

Seto quietly observed Yugi shuffle some papers together. He watched the other man slightly adjust his tie and wondered how much patience Yugi truly had. What did it mean to put up with Seto Kaiba outside of work relations? He rubbed his eyes, thinking of how he was going to last the final two hours of his shift. It was honestly, but secretly, a relief to be able to communicate normally with someone during his job. He opened his eyes to see Yugi nearly leave.

"One thing, Yugi...do you remember Mahad?"

* * *

Kisara had spent far too long trying to absorb the loneliness that invaded her when Serenity left for Tokyo days after Mokuba did. She frequently sauntered over to her former roommate's empty bedroom. Nothing was there. Soon, she too would move out.

She felt ashamed that she missed one person so deeply. Would Serenity miss her as much as Kisara missed her? Sitting on the barren floor of Serenity's bedroom, Kisara sifted through the photos she had of her and Serenity on her phone. Out of respect, she would not want Serenity to feel the same way.

There wasn't a day that went by without her showing her evident fondness for Serenity, and it wasn't like Serenity wasn't a simple text or call away. Although, sometimes texts and calls weren't enough to reach someone. Kisara's throat suddenly felt all caught up as her mind wandered. Her thumb navigated to her contacts page, and she was met with the pathetic history of missed calls to Seto Kaiba.

She tossed her phone to the side and laid on her side absentmindedly, contorting into a fetal position. She thought herself pathetic. Work at the café kept her busy and out of the apartment. She tried her best to project herself to nights out with her co-workers - when they would settle at a club or karaoke and drink the night away.

Kisara simply hated being alone in her empty apartment. She had already started packing her own belongings in order to prepare for the move to Yugi's. Piles of boxes in the living room and her own room made her sadder.

It hurt every morning to wake from a drunken slumber and realize there was no one to cook for and no one to expect. She had grown dependent on Serenity through both her company and taking care of her.

Being truly alone was scary. It had always been a fear manifested into paranoia when coupled with her strange hallucinations of random sounds and occasional visual conjurings of a figure in the corner of the room. The first night she was alone, she couldn't sleep at all. The rest of the nights were composed of her forcibly drinking herself to sleep or crashing at one of her co-workers' places. It felt like a regression to her previous ways.

Tonight was the last night before she would move to Yugi's, and she was grateful. Kisara slowly sat up, shaking her head at her pathetic independence. She really wanted nothing more than to quit her trend of avoiding loneliness. After perhaps ten minutes of aimless sitting, she finally had the guts to walk away from the room.

Perhaps she would cook instant noodles tonight. It was midnight, and it really was an awful idea to feast so late with something so awful for her health, but what young adult really cared? Kisara was about to stay her stove until she heard a rapping against her door. Her whole body froze.

Was she hearing things again? It wasn't like anyone to visit her this late. Kisara sighed and tried turning on her stove again, but the rapping continued. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing the sound to just disappear.

"Kisara! It's me!"

She opened her eyes and turned her stove off before walking towards her door. It couldn't be, could it? She checked the peep hole and chuckled a bit.

"Sora, what are you doing here?" She opened the door wide and smiled up towards her coworker. He was still dressed in the café shirt and looked as handsome as ever.

Sora explained, "I was worried about you after dropping you off. You seemed kinda off this past week or two. Also...I heard you've been sleeping over at places of some of the girls at work. Is something going on?"

"Nothing bad," Kisara denied. She never really told anyone else about her issues that arose after Serenity's leave. Despite Serenity sending her photos of Tokyo on the daily, and they had the occasional call, Kisara had no wish to show any signs of remorse. She had kept it all to herself, with no one she really wanted to bother. Except maybe one, but he wasn't having her.

"Maybe nothing bad, but there is something bothering you."

"The way you made that green tea frappuccino today bothered me," she joked in response, hoping to shift his focus. Sora rolled his eyes, but he laughed in good humor. She asked, "Why did you come all the way here to ask me if I was fine? A text would have been fine."

"I wanted to make sure you were actually alright. Anyone would say they're fine if you ask how they're doing," Sora rubbed his chin, wondering if he had it in him to explain further. He cleared his throat before confessing, "Also. Today was your last day at the cafe before you move on to modeling gigs from that fancy company you got into. The idea didn't hit me until I got home that...maybe I would miss you, and I would maybe miss your nagging about my drinks."

Kisara blinked at his sincerity. He was perhaps the closest co-worker that she ever had. He often drove her home and made sure she was always safe at home after work. They maintained a friendship filled with snide remarks and lighthearted antics, which was why she felt so odd during the moment. He was outside her door and for some reason, she didn't want to invite him in. She had been around enough times to know where this was going. She nervously laughed and said, "I'm going to miss you too, Sora. I don't know how you'll survive without me."

"Don't give yourself too much credit," he pointed out, "But, um, I'm also here because I wanted to ask if you're free some time? I don't want to...never see you again. Ha, awkward wording, huh?"

Sora was perhaps the most handsome man she ever met, and he was undoubtedly one of the sweetest too. As she investigated every aspect of his face, Kisara wondered why she wasn't saying yes so easily. She would have easily leapt at his request. If he asked her another time, she thought she would even invite him inside. Maybe he would even stay the night. She didn't want to lose his friendship, but she had no wish to suggest anything more.

"Um," Kisara wondered as she crossed her arms. Her figure leaned against the frame and settled, "Yeah, why not? I actually have a house-warming party at my new place tomorrow in the evening with a couple of my friends. Would you be interested?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Sora perked up. He rubbed the back of his neck as he said, "Then I suppose this is good night?"

"Good night, Sora."

"Night, Kisara."

* * *

Seto could have laughed as he found himself in the lot of Yugi's apartment complex. It was after another exhausting day of work, and usually, he had no wish to voluntarily go out of his way to socialize - especially when he was uninvited. He was genuinely debating whether or not he should just leave before he would make a fool of himself. Eventually, he was so sick of his self-arguments that he aggressively opened his car door.

"Shit!"

A female shriek arose. He nonchalantly glanced over to see someone slightly jump back from his sudden entrance into the world.

"God, that shocked me. You should take care of such a nice - oh," the woman's initially surprised face turned into one of horror.

Seto firmly shut his car door. He didn't know why the world hated him so much. His lips barely parted as he said, "I didn't know you were coming here."

"I wouldn't expect _you_ here. More so than me."

"Yes, well, I didn't expect myself to be here either, but here I am."

"I'm assuming for," her voice slightly dithered as she pronounced, "Kisara?"

"Yugi," he corrected.

She saw him hold a gift bag in one hand. She silently nodded and said, "I see. I guess we're going up."

The two were quiet as they made their way to Yugi's apartment. It had been a couple years since the Mutos moved out of Kame Game Shop. The shop still existed and was in near proximity, but Yugi had earned enough money from dueling to buy a nicer place. There was also the issue that his grandfather had been ailing for a while. The two reached Yugi's door. Before any one of them knocked, what looked like a blonde Kuriboh to Seto shot out towards them, specifically towards the woman.

"Téa!" Joey joyfully screamed loud enough for the neighbors to complain. He excitedly said, "I missed you so much!"

* * *

Kisara had really done it now. She should have just said no in the first place. What was she thinking about inviting Sora? She felt the color in her face fade away into abject paleness, and she felt skin crawl. The autumn breeze didn't help comfort her as she found herself out on Yugi's balcony, with Sora.

And flowers.

He had a bouquet of red roses. Of all flowers, roses were the least subtle. She didn't despise him. Again, he was nice, remarkably handsome, and she really thought at any other instance, she would have easily fallen for him. The setting could even be defined as romantic. Yugi's apartment had a fairly nice view of some of the city, and Domino during the night had an air of mysticism and excitement that unfortunately amplified an atmosphere she didn't desire and only felt discomfort. Kisara watched Mai wave gleefully from the inside of the apartment through the glass doors, and the blonde woman eventually walked away while ushering Yugi and Joey off.

"S-Sora! Those, um, those flowers! Wow!" Kisara anxiously exclaimed as she dramatically clasped her hands together. Her paleness turned red, not from the romantic gesture, but from her own act. He stepped closer so she could receive the bouquet. The fragrance from the roses would have been pleasant, but at that particular moment, they smelt grotesque. She cautiously asked, "W-What are these for?"

"House-warming gift," Sora answered. He thought she was quite cute with her face flushed, but he had no idea how she really felt. One hand covered his mouth as he started chuckling.

"Well, thank you," Kisara softly said as she tried her best to just stare at the roses in order to ignore facing him. She nervously added, "Well, these will definitely look very...nice in the living room. Wow. This is a whole dozen roses sort of bouquet, huh? Haha!" Her head hurt from trying to form a cohesive compliment.

"Kisara…"

No. Please don't, Kisara mentally begged. Her eyes slowly met his beautiful ones. They were objectively attractive, but why did she feel uneasy?

"I really like you, Kisara," Sora gently continued, "I've never really confessed to someone like this. I know I'm younger than you, but it is by just two years. I just really enjoyed working with you, and I go to sleep every work night replaying our stupid conversations. I...know I'm probably ruining a decent friendship, but I want to take any chance I get. I don't think I'll be happy with myself if you disappear from my life."

Why didn't she like him back? His words barely connected with her head. This wasn't logical. A part of Kisara wanted to reciprocate his feelings because she wanted so badly to be loved. The biggest obstacle was that she was sure she couldn't be the one to love him back. Her arms tightened around the bouquet, as if the roses could just speak to her and tell her next lines.

"...So, Kisara. I was wondering if you'd go out with me? On an actual date."

Kisara's mouth opened before she was even ready to speak. Her throat felt dry as she found herself in a flurry of troubling emotions. It would be so easy to accept, and she could see herself enjoying time with Sora, and really, what was the point of being so hung up on some other guy that had left her hung out to dry the past two weeks? It couldn't possibly hurt to say "yes" and experiment, right? Unwarranted guilt bubbled inside of her at the idea, and she desperately searched for why she would feel guilty.

"Sora, I-"

A sharp sound promptly caused both Kisara and Sora to turn their heads. Someone had stepped out into the balcony. Kisara felt her heart rate accelerated even faster, and a cold sweat started to develop. She couldn't believe who had decided to magically appear, and she didn't know whether or not she should have felt relief or even more tension seeing Seto Kaiba. Uninvited.

Behind Seto, Yugi was quite adamant on trying to hold back a furious Mai - who was rather infatuated with the idea of Sora and Kisara being a thing. He made sure to slide the glass door shut in order to give the three privacy and relief from his own vehement arguments with Mai.

"Sora, I...I'll get back to you on that," Kisara quickly insisted as she went over to Sora and hurriedly shuffled him toward the door, to which Seto moved aside to let through.

"Eh? Wait, Kisara-" Sora began to protest.

"I'll tell you my answer tonight, haha! You should play some Smash Bros with my friends!"

Sora was confused as to why Seto Kaiba was there. Of all the people in the city, why the hell was the CEO of one of the most famous tech companies here? He shot Seto a dirty look as he found himself ushered inside. He reversed himself to give his last words, "Well...I'll look forward to it."

Kisara nodded her head with a relieved smile as she watched Yugi expertly distract Sora away. She quickly turned around to find herself not any less nervous as she was with Sora. She must have looked so dumb with a bouquet of roses in her arms, but she had no where on the balcony to place them.

"Nice flowers," Seto commented as he leaned against the railing, having a decent idea of the scene that had unraveled.

"Yeah…" she absentmindedly agreed. Kisara wasn't sure where she should begin.

"Are you and him-"

"No!" Kisara objected a little too quickly. That made him shut his mouth. Silence lasted for two seconds until a smirk cracked on his face. She poorly explained, "I mean, I never got to say no, but I think it'll definitely be a no. You know?"

"I don't know, actually," he chuckled as he noticed how ridiculous and ostentatious the roses appeared to be in comparison to her, "He doesn't seem terrible."

"Because I've been with worse?" Kisara poked fun at herself. She took in a huge breath before walking closer to him and rapidly saying, "Seto, I'm really sorry about what happened. I tried reaching out to you-"

"Stop," Seto demanded. He crossed his arms with one hand of his still holding onto the gift bag. Kisara clamped her mouth shut, dreading his response. Much to her surprise, he was less abrasive as he slowly declared, "I...was the one that stepped out of line."

"What? But I was the one that threw herself at you, and I must have confused you about your proposition. I should have at least explained my decision before blatantly stating it in front of Serenity," Kisara poured out as her hands started to tremble. She found that her jaw was starting to shake a little bit too as she continued, "I-I tried to make up for it by texting or calling you, but I guess you didn't want any of it."

Seto shut his eyes for a bit. He didn't want to hear this. Her tone got a bit more sadder in her last sentiment, and he didn't like that. He eventually said, "I didn't want any of it because I'm irresponsible with my guilt, Kisara."

"Guilt?" Kisara furrowed her eyebrows. He turned away from her to lean out of the balcony and treasure the decent view of the streets.

"You might have been quick to turn the offer down, but who am I to be mad at you? I shouldn't have felt as...offended. Your choice of living space is completely your own."

"It was generous of you to offer your place."

"Maybe," Seto slightly agreed before continuing, "but that doesn't excuse my pettiness, I suppose. I kept ignoring you because I can't properly deal with admitting I'm at fault. I didn't want to hear you apologizing for something not worth being sorry over."

"I still think I suggested agreement when we…" Kisara drifted off, unsure of how she would phrase their incident. Her gaze was lost on his back.

"So what if you did? You never explicitly agreed, so I shouldn't have been pissed in the first place," he brushed off. Seto turned back around and firmly suggested, "Also. You must have been really alone without Serenity."

Kisara wondered how he knew. Were they that in synch? Her head hung low, almost delving headfirst into the roses.

"I felt it too when Mokuba left," he confessed. Seto never thought he would admit that to anyone. As much as the world knew he loved his brother, it wasn't something he often verbally expressed in a serious form. He set aside his gift bag on the floor and decided to snatch away those deplorable roses away from her arms. Seto didn't think they fit her, and he suspected she believed the same.

Kisara's head shot up as she felt the roses ripped away from her. He had the respect to at least hold onto the bouquet.

Kisara bit her lip. She didn't want to tell the truth and make him feel worse than he already felt, but she knew she couldn't hide everything. Her hands covered her face as she felt her eyes start to prickle with unnecessary tears. Her mouth budged, "I couldn't sleep the first night or the last night. The nights in between, I had to pass out from alcohol or take some sleeping pills or both. Sometimes a coworker was nice enough to let me sleep over, but I would feel ashamed from asking in the first place." She felt her body lower, and she found herself crouching in a defeated position in reference to the horrors of the past two weeks. Her head still hung low, but her hands eventually released from her face. Her gaze remained on the ground as she decidedly concluded, "I don't want you to pity me, Seto. I don't want you feeling like you should have been there either."

"I can guarantee the former," Seto assuredly said before retorting, "but it's difficult to believe the latter when you left those voicemails. Some were comical but nonetheless, I figured I could have at least responded."

Kisara was further sent into shame as she recalled herself dialing his number multiple times, only to leave absurd voicemails with similar themes of asking the CEO over because of her desperate loneliness. She shook her head as she argued, "I need to learn to be by myself. Every adult can do it, and I can't just rely on someone else like Serenity...or you to be around."

"Well, not everyone has your condition."

Seto lowered himself too and placed the roses on the ground next to him. Her white curtain of hair covered her face with her head hung so low. His hand reached out to tuck half of it behind one of her ears. Her face lifted slightly, unable to meet his gaze in disbelief. He gently continued, "I remember a certain someone telling me that it's good to reach out to people. Don't go back on your words. It's...not a wrong choice. I just couldn't be that person to answer you, and that's on me."

"You don't have to be that person."

"I'm not opposed to being that person," Seto openly declared as he rose up. He stretched his arm towards her, to which she looked up to in question. He offered, "and I promise you, I'm the most fit for this position. While I was wrongfully ignoring you, I dug up old information regarding our...past, or whatever. I think it's time we have a full discussion after every distraction that's happened. I have some knowledge that no doctor has. Do you believe me?"

Kisara would have giggled at his assertiveness if she still didn't feel so down There was that air of certainty to him that suddenly arose, and it gave her an imagination of being at some business meeting. Her hand reached out to accept his, and she was assisted on her way up to stand.

"If you're going to live with Yugi, then I'm just going to have to spend more time outside my home," he willfully added, "When are you free?"

Kisara felt with Seto what she should have when Sora had asked when she was free. This was starkly different. Two men had asked her the same question, and she had two very different opinions.

"Are you only asking me out because you feel bad for ignoring me?" she playfully asked, and a wide, amused smile bloomed on her face.

Seto could only slightly smile as he saw her usual spirits raise. He nodded and sarcastically said, "I wouldn't bother in any other situation."

"Hmm…" Kisara rubbed her chin and snapped her fingers as she said, "Under one condition. I choose where we go."

"Oh, do you suddenly have a car now? Whoever drives is in charge," Seto raised, "which means me."

"Then let me drive your car!"

"I don't plan on dying soon."

"I have a real license!"

"As opposed to a forged one."

"How do you know I drive badly?" Kisara fake-whined and accused, "Are you underestimating me? If whoever drives is in charge, then you're always in charge!"

"I don't think you've driven in a while, even with a license, and yes, being in charge all the time is something I'm very fine with," Seto smugly asserted.

Kisara huffed a bit before saying, "Then we're going on two dates. One is your responsibility and the other will be mine."

"Who the hell said we were going on one _date_ in the first place?" He argued. By asking for her free time, he didn't want to blatantly insinuate anything like a _date_. It would be _preposterous_ to date.

Kisara ignored him as she said, "And after we go on these dates, we'll know who's the better boss. Sounds good?"

 _No. The hell,_ Seto thought to himself. There was something quite scary when she phrased an outing as a "date," even if deep inside, that might have been what he wanted.

"You're stupid. Deal."

They found themselves shaking on it, and the handshaking prolonged unnecessarily. Both awkwardly released, and it was during that pivotal moment that someone had slid opened the glass door again.

"Ok, break it up," Joey announced, "We want to have fun with Kisara too."

"I was just leaving," Seto smoothly said, "I'm tired after work and last-minute shopping." He reached down to grab the gift bag he had brought with him to give to Kisara, who accepted it with surprise.

"Thanks, but you really shouldn't have!"

Seto waved her off as he walked past Joey and wished him a farewell, "Have fun, dweeb."

"Oi," Joey suddenly reached up to firmly grasp Seto's shoulder. The other man paused, but surprisingly didn't hit Joey for daring to touch him. Joey said, "We gotta talk sometime. Seriously."

Seto scoffed and replies, "Why not? Everyone suddenly wants to date me."

"Huh?! Date?! If everyone means just you, sure! Bye!" Joey took his hand off of Seto's shoulders and dramatically pretended to dust off his hands.

Kisara saw Seto out the door with his gift in one hand and the roses in the other, making sure to thank him for dropping by as well. She peered down at the gift bag, curious as to what he could have possibly bought her. Before she could check, her eyes drifted up to see someone she hadn't spoken with in years.

"Oh my gosh! Téa!" Kisara yelped before set her gifts aside on a nearby end table and rushed over to hug her friend. It had been a while since she and everyone else had seen Tèa. Although she was not as close to Téa as she was to Serenity, Kisara held some affections for the high-spirited dancer.

As she held Téa in her arms, Kisara excitedly added, "You didn't tell me you were coming over!"

"Well, surprise!" Téa exclaimed as she returned the hug warmly, "I thought this was the perfect opportunity to meet up with everyone who's still in Domino!"

After the two separated, Kisara jokingly said, "Well, you just missed Mokuba and Serenity, but you didn't miss much. Those two are annoying to be around."

"Well, I make up for the two of them," Téa teased as she reached into her purse to pull out what seemed to be a small box , "because I got you a little present as well. It's just a collection of some of the best chocolates in New York!"

"Sounds absolutely delicious! Thanks so much!" Kisara gleefully accepted.

"Hey, your guests are starting to make me feel bad, Kisara," Yugi laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I didn't get you a gift."

"Yeah, me neither," Joey chimed in, "Didn't realize everyone loved you so much. Pretty weird Kaiba got you something, and you even got a whole bouquet of roses from that one guy! A whole confession!"

"Speaking of that one guy, where's Sora?" Kisara asked as she scanned Yugi's living room for him.

"He left saying that he didn't want to hear your reply tonight all red with embarrassment," Mai answered. She comfortably sat down on the couch and continued, "Although if I were you, I'd take it. He's hot."

"What's dat supposed to mean?" Joey eyed his girlfriend with crossed arms, edging close to Mai and giving her a dirty look. He squinted his eyes and moved his face closer to hers.

"Theoretically speaking," Mai assured as she shrugged and playfully smacked Joey's face away, "Besides. Wouldn't you rather be with someone as openly affectionate and ridiculously handsome as that Sora guy? Forget Kaiba."

"Hey, I never considered Sora in that way," Kisara refuted. Her voice slightly wavered as she said, "and...and the same goes for Seto."

"Seto?"

Kisara looked back at Téa, whose face looked almost dejected momentarily before thinly smiling and asking, "Are you two that close now?"

"Um...I don't know," Kisara truthfully said. Despite how impossibly close the two had gotten physically and even through their conversations, there was still that grey area that existed between her and Seto Kaiba. She didn't like how the attention had suddenly turned to her relationships, so she decided to redirect, "Enough about me, I want to see that engagement ring! Congratulations!"

Kisara sought out Téa's left hand and brought it way up in the air. There was an obvious sparkle on one finger, and it elicited several congratulations and obnoxiously loud clapping amongst the group. Kisara brought Téa's hand down to her eye-level and gasped at the beautiful square-cut diamond nestled onto a pristine, platinum band.

"Oh, Téa…" Kisara gleaned as she winked, "It's beautiful. He's rich isn't he?"

"Kisara!" Téa laughed loudly and returned her hand. She settled onto the floor near the couch, resting against it while Kisara followed suit. She said aloud, "Well, I guess I have been keeping him a secret for a while. I will say he's more than decent financially."

Mai and Kisara ushered out there "oohs" and launched a flurry of questions regarding Téa's fiancé. As Téa tried her best to answer each woman's questions, her eyes couldn't help but drift to someone that didn't appear to be as invested. While Joey eventually chimed in with the ridiculous was of Mai and Kisara pandering, Yugi didn't seem to bother with the excitement. His face was not stern in anyway, however. No, his face had that same friendliness to it as she remembered - the same, unwavering kind politeness.

Their eyes continued meeting despite Téa answering to the other three, and some part of her wanted to scream at him to be involved too. Despite the undivided attention of the other three, her chest was tinged with an irreparable emptiness.

"Is that necklace from him too?" Kisara peered at Téa's delicate neck, admiring the jewelry.

Mai too examined closer as she said, "Holy shit. This necklace looks more expensive than the ring. You really scored."

"Did I?" Téa rhetorically asked. Her gaze broke away from Yugi's as she looked down at her necklace. Her hand reached up to touch the cold metal. She had forgotten to take it off.

"What a pretty flower cut," Mai continued to admire. It certainly was a piece of artisan jewelry, and the multiple petals of the flowers shaped by sparkling diamonds defined the necklace. She asked, "What kind of flower is that? I've never seen anything like it."

Kisara's head became convoluted the more she looked at the flower. Her eyes narrowed as if to scrutinize where she had seen it before. Thoughts of fields spawned in her imagination once she recognized where she saw it before.

With a shaky voice, Kisara breathed, "It looks like…."

" _Edelweiss_."

Much to their respective surprise, both Téa and Kisara answered Mai simultaneously. The two women locked eyes, wondering how the other knew, or better yet, _what_ they knew.

"Hm?" Mai peered at Kisara in wonder, "How would you know, Kisara? I've never heard of a flower like that."

Kisara wanted to smack Mai for being so curious. Despite Kisara fully facing Mai now, Téa's eyes remained fixated on her as she insisted, "I just saw some at a local flower shop. I thought they were really pretty and strange. That's why I remember them."

Mai frowned a little, although Kisara's explanation was quite plausible. She twirled a piece of her long blonde hair around her finger as she returned her attention toward Téa and further asked, "So what about you, hun? Got any cheesy stories behind that necklace?"

"Cheesy? Maybe," Téa ran her fingers against the necklace as she calculated, "He and I went on a vacation once. There was a field made up of purely edelweiss that we visited. I liked the flowers so much that he gifted me the necklace. Custom. I never bothered to learn the whole flower symbolism thing, and he definitely didn't care, but we had fun during the trip, and it was nice that he remembered."

"Are you saying that both the necklace and the ring are from your fiancée?" Kisara asked, trying her best to cast her doubts aside. Her head was starting to hurt, and not just from her all-nighter.

"Yes," Téa shortly answered.

Kisara stood up as she thoughtfully said, "The florist told me that edelweiss means "noble white" in German, and men used to climb and risk their lives to pick the flower to prove their love for their bride-to-be. I guess...that means he really loves you. I have to use the restroom."

Téa quietly watched the other woman leave the living rooming, feeling as if there was more that she knew. The necklace felt like it was choking her. She simply smiled at her remaining friends and tried to uplift herself as the usual paragon of friendship as she started inquiring about the current ongoings of their lives and ignored her personal problems of lying to their faces.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Any confusion will hopefully be tied up next chapter, haha. Thanks for reading!

 **Review Responses**

 **vanene10:** Steamy moments will come haha ;) But I gotta make some frustration too for the suspense.

 **itxprincessxlala:** I'm gonna miss writing out Mokuba, but he's definitely not completely gone! Thanks for taking the time to read my story!

 **Guest:** Haha, unfortunately not right now, they aren't living together. There would be a lot of scenarios I could write out ^^ Thanks for reading!


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